A Father and a Spectre
by VerdicGorishmal
Summary: Richard Kadimus, C-sec officer, has helped bust a slaving ring on the Citadel 75 years after the Reaper Invasion. When he finds a Turian child among those freed with no living family, he adopts the child, mirroring his Turian great grandfather rescuing and adopting his grandmother during the Reaper Invasion
1. Adoption

Richard moaned as he rolled over and hit the snooze button on his alarm. His muscles were sore and protested as he dragged himself out of bed and to the bathroom of his small apartment. As he was brushing his teeth, he heard his omni-tool buzz with an incoming call. Quickly finishing up, he answered the call, which he saw was from his mother.

"Mom, why are you up so early?"

"I know it may be early for you, but I am getting ready to go to bed. Your grandmother wanted me to invite you to have breakfast, or dinner for you. She found this wonderful Asari restaurant on the 73rd level of Zakera Ward."

"That sounds nice. What time are you two going to have breakfast?'

"We were thinking 5 o'clock."

"That sounds good, I get off at 4, so I will meet you there, just send me the address."

"Ok, I love you Richard."

"I love you too Mom." Richard hung up and sighed. He was often exhausted after work. He quickly hopped in the shower and checked the address. He would have to shower at the station before going to eat with his family. He also knew that his grandmother would be wondering where her great-grand kids were. She was always trying to find him a nice person to settle down with, but working the night shift at C-Sec left very few options of whom he could spend time with.

After a quick breakfast of Oatmeal and fruit, Richard hurried off to the station. Most people were having dinner or out at the clubs, so there was little foot traffic as he headed down the hallway. After about 10 minutes and a few thousand stairs, he reached his station and went inside. He put some nice clothes into his locker and pulled out his armor and equipment.

"Got a date?" a voice said behind him. Richard turned around to see his partner, a Turian named Tannis, walking over in full armor.

"Yeah, with my family. They want to see me for breakfast."

"I'd offer back-up, but I know you grandmother would try to hook us up again. She does know I'm married, right?" Richard shook his head. Tannis had been his partner for the last 3 years, and she had been married for longer, but his grandmother still tried to get them hitched.

"Why are you wearing full armor? Aren't we on the market district tonight?"

"No. The Captain wants us to join in on a warehouse raid. Apparently, there is a smuggling ring one of the detectives found." Richard struggled into his full armor set. He never liked the heavy armor, as it hampered his movement, but it offered great protection for assaulting entrenched places. "Apparently, they are smuggling half of the drugs on the Zakera ward."

Richard finally got all his armor on. It had only been 75 years since the Reaper invasion, but people were already back at their old criminal ways. Hefting his Katana and Predator, Richard set off after Tannis to meet up with the rest of the assault group.

Half an hour later, they were all gathered a few blocks away from the warehouse in question. There were three teams going in, with a fourth team of snipers waiting outside. Richard's hands kept gripping and releasing his shotgun, trying to work out that cold, clammy feeling he always got while anticipating the coming combat. It was never easy being the first one in the building, but with his biotics, he was a cannonball to open up the fireworks. They had done this a few times before, but it never got easier.

They got to the small side door and waited for the command to go in. Tannis and two other Turians from another station were running flank.

After what felt like 10 minutes, but by his armor's watch was only 80 seconds, the signal came in to start. One of the Turians quietly opened the door and Richard peeked in. It was a largely empty warehouse, with most of the crates stacked up on the far wall, meaning the team on that side was blocked. There was a group of Terrans and Turians at the wall opposite of the large doors. They stood around a table and seemed to be arguing about something.

Not wanting to give them a chance to disperse, Richard biotically charged into the closets member, attempting to knock the rest of them down like bowling pins. His Katana barked in his hands as he came to a stop, and there were the blue streaks of relativistic ballistics flying all around him. In moments, the smugglers were dead or injured. Moving carefully, Richard noticed a door that lead to an office in the back. He crept over to the door and heard some muffled voices inside. He motioned to Tannis and she covered him as he burst through the door.

On the other side was a Batarian holding a young Turian hostage. He had a pistol to her head, and only one pair of eyes was focused on Richard, the other pair was constantly moving, looking for a way out.

"One more step and she dies. Drop your weapons." Richard knew he couldn't get a shot off without hitting the girl. Slowly, he lowered his weapon to the floor and slid it away. He raised both hands up, palms forward, in front of him.

"No one else has to die. We have you surrounded. You can't force your way out of here without dying. Hand over the girl and I can promise you will live to see trial."

"I'm not going anywhere with you Human!" The Batarian spat. "I'm in this spot because of your kind. No, I am going to leave, and no one is going to kill me. Back out of the room. Now!" The Batarian switched his aim to Richard to emphasis his point.

This was all the opening that Richard needed. He had been gathering himself for a shockwave, but the switch of aim allowed him to be more reckless and he charged. He impacted into the gun and the sound of the Batarian's arm snapping nearly made him lose his breakfast. He quickly recovered and gave the Batarian a quick jab to loosen his grip on the girl. Knowing the Batarian was no longer threatening anyone; Richard quickly grabbed the girl and bolted out into the warehouse. Tannis and the other Turians piled into the room to arrest the Batarian and search the premise for evidence.

Richard set the girl down by one of the cruisers and grabbed a blanket.

"My name is Richard. You're safe now. Is there anyone we can contact for you?" Richard draped the blanket over her shoulders as a medic came over to examine her. She was shaking as the medic examined her, but refused to speak.

"Officer Kadimus, report!" Captain R'Donis walked over, helmet under her arm. Richard straightened up and saluted.

"6 smugglers dead, 1 in custody, sir. They had one hostage, whom we recovered with little injury to our officers or her." Richard gestured to the young Turian currently wrapped in a blanket. R'Donis walked over to the girl and had a quiet conversation with her. Seeing she was in good hands, Richard walked over to one of the other EMT's to get himself looked over. He often took a shot or two during these raids.

"So Doc, what's the damage this time?" He asked Hevek, the Salarain medic. The medic took an omni-tool and started to scan Richard.

"One bruised rib, a strained quadriceps, and some bloody knuckles. Seems you got off light this time. Have important plans in the morning?"

"How did you know?" Hevek smirked.

"Whenever you have an important date coming up, you always hold back, you get jittery, and you drum your fingers. Let me guess, your grandmother set you up on a blind date?"

"Kind of, surprise breakfast with her and my mother. I know they are going to gang up on my about that. My grandmother wants me to have someone, and my mom wants grandkids she can spoil." Hevek shook his head and continued to apply some medicine to Richard's armor ports.

Once he was done being patched up by Hevek, Richard wandered back over to Tannis, who was giving a report to R'Donis. Richard waited just within earshot, hoping to hear a few tidbits.

"…crates of red sand, impure…trafficking…slaves…" Richard watched R'Donis glance at the Turian girl he had saved, and then seemed to notice Richard. Without waiting for her to speak, Richard stepped closer and saluted.

"I assume you heard what we were talking about, so I am just going to come out with it. These were slavers and drug smugglers. We need you two to hunt down the remaining slaves and who bought them. By the manifest, there were 6 in total, all sold here on the Citadel. You saved one of them, but we need to get the rest."

"We'll get right on it Captain. What is going to happen to the girl?"

"We need to keep her under observation for a few days at the hospital, but after that, we will try to find her family." With that, R'Donis dismissed them. Tannis handed over a data pad to Richard, which had the slave manifest on it.

The slaves had been sold to a person known as "Red", and the location of the sale was at the Fade, a seedy nightclub way down on Zakera Ward. Neither Tannis nor Richard had been there before, and to get anywhere, they were going in unarmed and unarmored. They had a back-up squad on call, but as a last resort or when they found the slaves.

As Richard was stripping his armor off, Tannis tossed a sheathed knife to him. "We might need these, and the captain said no firearms, mostly because you count as a weapon, being Biotic." Richard took a look at the knife. The blade was reminiscent of an old Bowie knife, just a little thinner and longer.

"Doesn't your husband mind the amount of times you've seen me at least partially naked?" Richard joked as he continued to take his armor off and get into the plain clothes he had been given.

"Not really. I have no attraction to humans. You are a little too squishy and nearly as scaly as I like. Plus, he never asks, so I don't tell." They both laughed as Richard got dressed, secured the knife under his shirt, and they headed off to the nightclub.

About an hour later they were standing out in front of the night club Fade. Richard took a deep breath as they prepared to enter. It wasn't that he disliked these places; it was that he was a cop going into a very lawless place with no apparent authority. Tannis grabbed his arm and practically hauled him forwards to the club. When they got in, the strobe lights and the pulsating music hit them like a baton. A moment later, the smells and heat of the place hit them like a wall. There was a large, circular dance floor with two bars on the outside and lounge seating up top. There were professional dancers on pedestals and cages above the crowds. Off in the back, there were some private rooms. Tannis let his arm go and disappeared into the crowds.

Richard wandered into the mass of dancers and tried to work his way around back, where the private rooms were. Two had their doors open, but one of them had its doors shut. He decided to rent the room next to it, to see if there was anything going on in the closed room. When he approached the bar, he motioned to the empty room and made what he and the rest of the human race had found to their surprise, the universal sign of money. The Salarian behind the bar tapped the bar 5 times and held up one digit. Richard handed over 500 credits and grabbed the key for the room. Richard found Tannis as they both broke through the crowd. He grabbed her around the waist and they sauntered off to the room he had rented.

He felt eyes watching them as they closed the doors, and fervently hoped they were of the lecherous variety, and not the suspicious. Once the doors were closed, Richard realized this might not have been a good idea. The rooms were amazingly quiet and he could not hear any noise from the dance floor.

"Good thinking, they might still be in the other room. Too bad these rooms are sound proofed against this. It's one of the oldest clichés." Tannis placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. "Have any other ideas, since we are in a secure room, we might as well use it." They both spent the next few minutes looking around the room until Tannis called Richard over to the center of the room. She pointed upwards to the air circulation vent.

"I know how you love clichés." Richard rolled his eyes as he looked at the vent. It did look suspiciously human sized. They can't be that dumb, he thought. Pulling a table over, he reached up to the vent and pulled it off. It would be a tight fit. But Richard thought he could fit. Lifting himself up into the vent, he started to inch worm his way to the next room. After a few minutes, helped by the copious amounts of sweat the hot air shaft provided for him, he made it to the vent leading into the next room.

There was no sound coming up, but Richard could see all of the room, and noted a lot of people in there, of many different species. On one side of the room was a group of people who were bound by their hands and on the other was a mixed group of Turians, Batarians, Humans, Elcor, and Volus. There were about 20 buyers and 2 sellers, as well as a few armed guards. Way more than he could take armed with only a knife.

He shimmied back and poked his head down to Tannis. "The captives are in there, all twelve, and there are about thirty five or so hostiles and buyers."

"Why didn't you take them out?"

"With a knife?! Are you serious?" Richard looked into Tannis's face and realized she was joking. The blood rushing to his head must be having an effect on him. "I'll keep an eye on them while you go for back-up."

"I don't like leaving you alone. You can do really stupid things that way."Tannis chided.

"Don't worry. The odds are too great this time for me to even think of trying. I need at least 2 more knives than we have on hand to stand a chance." Richard smiled and wiggled his way back to the other room's vent, contenting himself on making sure he could remember who left with what captive, if it got that far.

About 10 minutes later, Richard started to wonder why he had elected to stay. The view had been disturbing and infuriating, and the sweltering heat did nothing to help his temper, or his hydration. He had already set the vent to fall inwards when he needed to jump into the room, but he almost felt that he was going to pass out before he could jump out. It shouldn't have taken Tannis long to get the strike team together, as they were a short drive away. He had noticed that most of the buyers were from the more well-to-do parts of the wards, some of them from the Presidium itself. The fact that these people were considered upstanding citizens twisted his gut, but there was very little he could do.

Richard brought his full attention to bear when all of them looked at the door, and then started to look around confused. Richard moved into a crouch, with the long Turian knife in his hands. He waited for the door to burst open before jumping down. He was so focused on his landing and his initial strikes, that he did not notice the lack of people bursting in through the door. His landing knife cut lacerated the throat of one of the guards, and his forehand swing landed the knife squarely in the heart of the guard behind him. The other 4 guards were on the ground, and all of the buyers were pressing back against the wall or on the ground. The seller was on the ground, with both legs lying useless.

His first indication that things were not right was the lack of bodies in C-sec uniforms. The second indication was the barrel of a gun he found to the back of his head.

"Drop the knife or you die, and tell me why I shouldn't just pull the trigger now. I just witnessed you murder 2 people." A voice growled from behind him. It sounded Krogan. Richard gently tossed the knife onto one of the dead guards.

"Richard Kadimus, C-sec officer. Currently plain clothes to find the slave trading ring and rescue the captives. I am under orders from Captain R'Donis." Richard felt a cold chill run down his spine as he said the words. He heard a second set of footsteps, then a third.

"It's ok Vorx, I looked him up. He is C-sec." The gun lowered from Richard, who sagged slightly with relief.

"Turn around officer." Another voice intoned. Richard turned around and noticed an Asari and a Quarian in the room as well. The Quarian was over by the captives, seeing if any were injured. The Quarian liked the blue and green colors, having a riot of azures and teals all over her suit. She was about 5'8, and looked rather thin, but Richard had not met many Quarians so far.

The Asari walked up to him, examining him along the way. She had a stern look on her face, almost boring into his mind. He knew she probably could too. She had a Matron's body, which made her a few hundred years old at least, and Asari got more powerful with age, she was dressed in light military armor, with only a pistol at her side. The Krogan was very similar where it counted. Despite being larger, he looked as scarred and stern as the Asari, although a little less menacing, as his raw power and shotgun left very little for Richard's imagination to terrify him with.

"I am Halona T'Nara, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. These are my associates. Rina'Vona nar Rella and Vorx." She gestured to the Quarian and Krogan respectively. "And You have not seem Gemini yet, but they have seen you. Just wave." Richard waved his hand and had the sinking feeling that his hand was now being scoped on.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I think my backup may be arriving in a few minutes, if you would not mind hanging around just so my partner does not think I went all gung-ho again and didn't wait for her." Richard gave a weak smile. Vorx laughed and went over to the buyers, making sure none of them got away.

"Kadimus…That is a Turian last name if I am not mistaken. How did you end up with one?" Halora asked as she inspected the seller and applied some medi-gel. She was keeping him from dying, but not enough to allow him to walk anytime soon. Richard turned to keep her in his sight, remembering to move slowly so he could keep his head intact.

"It was my great grandfather's last name. He was a C-sec officer on the citadel during the Reaper Invasion. He saved my Grandmother when her parents never showed up and the Reapers invaded the Citadel. After they got away, she was unable to find her parents, so he adopted her."Halora shivered as he finished, and Vorx went over to her. He whispered something in her ear and she shook her head.

Richard looked out of the door in time to see Tannis and the strike team entering the club and force their way across the dance floor. When they saw the door open, their weapons all came up and they rushed forwards, filling into the room. There were a few moments of high tension as guns were drawn and pointed wildly, with plenty of shouting. Halona Walked into the middle and waved her companions down, and held up her Spectre credentials. That stopped the shouting, but not all of the gun pointing.

Captain R'Donis came upon the scene of a score of people being arrested and one being carted away in an ambulance. She felt her frustration grow at what she found at the scene. The captives were standing almost between what looked like a hit squad and one of her strike teams. Neither group had weapons trained, but they all appeared to be moments away from bloodshed, except for Richard, who was in what looked like a gym outfit.

"What happened here?" Barked R'Donis.

"We had some unexpected help from Spectre Halona, Sir." Richard called out.

"Spectre Halona?" R'Donis looked over at the Asari standing in the room, blatantly acting casual and nonchalant. Her heart both sank and soared as she recognized the Spectre.

"Long time no see cousin. I didn't realize you had made captain. I would have dressed better if I knew."

"Sorry I didn't tell you. I was still pretty hot after that incident at your parent's house. I'm sorry this is the way we get to meet up again." R'Donis strode forward and gave her cousin a hug. "But it seems you may have made a lot more paperwork for me. Anything you can do to help out?"

"Of course, we can talk about it over a meal. I have already turned custody of all the suspects over to C-sec and Rina is already submitting the paperwork to have this classified as a Spectre raid, with C-sec requisition support team."

"Thank you. I know a great place where we can grab some food. I'll meet you there at 4, does that work for you?"

"Perfect. Until then, we have some work to do. Any you should probably get a medic over to your guy in plainclothes, I think someone may have taken a potshot at him." Richard seemed to be sitting next to the wall, paler than normal. Everyone else was so busy, he seemed to be forgotten. R'Donis called over one of the medics checking on the freed captives to see to Richard.

Richard grunted as Hevek checked him over and sealed the long gash in his leg. "Twice in one night, almost seems like you don't want to have dinner with your Grandmother."

"That thought hadn't occurred to me. It's tempting though." Richard and Hevek smiled at the joke. Richard winced as he stood up, the pain in his leg still fresh. "I'll be fine for now, probably just paperwork for the rest of the night."

"Good, that means he can get a break and deal with regular medical problems." Tannis teased as she walked over. "Glad to see you didn't do anything stupid."

"I almost got shot by a Spectre, if that makes you feel better." Tannis cuffed him in the ribs, which were still sore. Richard hobbled off to Captain R'Donis, who gave him leave to do some paperwork then head off for the night. He saluted and went to join the rest of the squad who were heading back to the station.

Before he made it to the vehicle, he was stopped by a Geth wearing what looked like a crochet hood of brilliant blues and greens. While the Geth were now fully AI and allowed onto the Citadel, he had never heard of one coming within the last thirty years.

"Officer Kadimus. I wish to inform you I have no ill will towards you. I was doing my job of protecting Creator Rina." It proffered its hand to Richard. After a moment, it dawned on Richard that this was the sniper Halona was talking about. He reached out and took the Geth's hand.

"That's ok. Gemini, was it?" The Geth nodded. "Thank you for the thought." The handshake lasted long enough for Richard to start feeling awkward, when Tannis called to him and gave him an easy excuse to let go of their hand. He stiffly sat down and readied himself for a long boring night of healing and paperwork.

The morning came too soon for Richard, who showered and got dressed to meet his family for breakfast. He pulled up a few minutes before they were supposed to meet, when he noticed the Captain and the Spectre already sitting down to eat. Richard always felt weird when he saw one of his bosses outside of the workplace. He decided to take a seat close to them, since it was going to be impossible to avoid them.

"Well, there is a familiar face. You're looking much better now Officer Kadimus." Halona said, sipping her drink.

"I'm surprised to see you here. Not many humans come here, as it is nestled among Turian shops." R'Donis looked quizzically at Richard.

"My Great-Grandfather was Turian and took my grandmother and mother here often. I'm actually meeting them now for a family meal." Richard sat down at the empty table next to theirs and directed his chair towards them. It wasn't too long after he took a seat that he heard his mother call out to him. Richard got up and went over to greet them, embracing his mother and grandmother tenderly, as his ribs still ached.

"Mom, Grandma, this is my boss, Captain R'Donis, and her cousin, Specter Halona. I was just telling them about Great-Grandpa."

"My father was such a wonderful man. He was very mellow for a Turian, but still very strict." Richard's Grandmother kept talking about her father as Richard gave an apologetic look to Halona and R'Donis.

"Well, I am very glad he saved you, Mrs. Kadimus. Without you, Young Richard here would not have come to my attention." Halora seemed to be enjoying learning about him. Richard felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck.

"Really?" His Grandmother got an evil glint in her eye. At least it looked evil to Richard. He groaned inwardly as he knew what that glint meant. "Would it be too intrusive to join your table?"

"Not at all," Halona grinned. There was a hunger in her eyes that Richard couldn't place, but it promised that what would happen next would be a fantastic show, for anyone not named Richard Kamidus. They all sat down and ordered some food.

"Captain, were the girl's parents among the others?" Richard queried.

"Unfortunately, no. We will keep looking, but from the evidence we have about the group, and the information we got from Mr. Red, I think we can assume the worst."

"What will happen to her?"

"She will probably become a ward of the state and raised in a foster home, unless a relative comes out of the woodwork. Why, were you thinking of becoming a parent?" All four sets of female eyes bore into Richard. He felt his face grow flush and his brain refused to form a coherent thought.

"I think your officer is saying yes, which will make what I want a little harder to accept." They all looked at Halona, who shrugged. "I was going to ask if he wanted to join my group. I could use someone with his skills in my missions, which I have a backlog on. The pay will probably be better than what you are getting now, but there is more danger involved, and less time on the Citadel."

Richard sat back, stunned. Neither of these things were something he had really thought about. He did not know the first thing of being a parent, or even an elder sibling. And giving up being a C-sec officer to be a Spectre? When he was a kid he would dream of it, but he never thought he would get to work with one. He was still in a state of shock when his mother spoke up.

"He says yes, to both." Halona raised an eyebrow at Richard's Mother. "My mother was saved by a Turian who cared, and we will repay that kindness my Grandfather did for us. He could use the extra money for raising her, and I will be the doting grandmother. Looking at the way his life is going, he might not get another chance to have a kid." Halona and his grandmother laughed at this point. "I can take care of her while he is away, and he will get plenty of time to help raise her. Do we have a deal?"

"How can I deprive a new Grandmother one wish."

"And maybe we might even get a blue one too." Richard's grandmother cackled. The table became a lot wetter as Richard did an embarrassed spit-take.

"He might have to meet another Asari for that. I'm bonded with Vorx, a Korgan in my party. I'd hate to be the cause of this Turian girl becoming an orphan again so soon." His grandmother cackled at that too.

"Do I have a say in the direction my life takes or who I am responsible for?" Richard had finally found his voice and was more than a little peeved.

"Yes you do dear, but I knew what you would eventually decide, so I just cut out the waiting. Now, where is my grandchild?"

"Mrs. Kadimus, it is not as simple as that. We have to go through the appropriate channels, but we can start later today if you want." Captain R'Donis looked at Richard. "You might want to say goodbye to your squad mates. Let them know what's going on."

"Yeah. Hevek will probably throw a party once I'm gone." Richard smiled at the thought. His smile melted away as he realized how much he would miss Tannis and Hevek, but he would still be able to visit them. And knowing a Turian with children who were his new daughter's age meant that she would have friends. Their food arrived in short order and the conversation became more light-hearted between everyone.

Richard passed out when he got home and slept for most of the day. He was woken up by his doorbell ringing. He stood up despite the protesting bones and muscles in his body. He had not changed from the morning and stumbled to the door. He opened it and Tannis was standing there, with her Husband and 3 children.

"Good Evening. Captain told me everything. I never pegged you to have children without having the fun part, but hey, you have great taste." Tannis laughed as they all came into Richard's small apartment. Richard shook her husband's hand, and gave hugs to her children, who all knew him as "Uncle Kadimus". He offered some water to all of them, but Tannis waved him off. "We are only stopping by while we head home from a school play. It's a school night for the kids, but we all just wanted to say congratulations and that we expect her to come over often."

"Not too often though." Her husband said. "We still want her to feel as if we are the fun side of the family." Richard laughed along with them. He had a feeling that things were going to work out for him and the young woman he rescued with all the support they were getting.


	2. First Mission

Richard walked onto the small Asari Yacht, side by side with Rine. His palms were itchy, but not because this was his first Spectre Mission. Richard was nervous about being the obvious target in the room. While Halona was there with Vorx as her guest (a well-mannered Krogan, you'd never guess from that web of scars), Richard and Rina were both seen coming from the Spectre's ship, and neither seemed to be very imposing. That meant that if the person they were looking for was in this room, they were very exposed. Neither of them had any weapons. Richard was Biotic, but he was crowd control, not as sophisticated as Halona was.

Richard had gone under cover before with Tannis, but they had worked together for years. This felt different, as he barely knew Rina. She seemed like a nice person, but he always felt as if she were staring daggers at his back and rarely spoke to him. Gemini on the other hand, the Geth travelling with Rina on her Pilgrimage, could not stop asking questions. Richard found most of them were insightful and required hours of discussion, but occasionally, they would ask something very personal, and the Spectre did not have many private rooms on her ship.

Richard had never been part of a high society party like this, but Gemini assured him the Creator Rina had many times, and just to "follow her lead" as humans put it. Gemini remained on the ship. Despite their help in the Reaper War, the Geth were still seen as Pariahs by all but the Quarian. Plus, the ship's boosters would help him hack anything he needed to across the whole ship.

He had already been introduced to so many people that all of the names melted away and he was remembering them by their clothing or by weird habits they seemed to have. There were only so many planetary dignitaries he could remember. As Richard tried to laugh at another dull joke, he started to envy Rina's isolation behind her mask.

The odd part was, despite how many different species were present on this enormous yacht, and the intelligence that their target was here, no one had run into their target yet, or her wife. Both were very noticeable, for they often dressed in a gaudy fashion. And from the photos Richard saw, gaudy was being kind. Tacky was more appropriate.

"Excuse me if you will, I have some business to take care of." Richard said to the latest pair of notables he had just been introduced to. "I will be back shortly." Richard headed off to the bathrooms. While he was in there, he gave a quick pulse to Gemini.

"Have you heard anything about our guest?"

"Negative Kadimus. There have been no references to priority Alpha, and only one to priority Beta." Richard's hopes began to soar before the other shoe dropped. "Unfortunately, that reference is to express concern that priority Beta has not arrived."

"Good work Gemini. I'll bring back a snack if you want. Not all the time we get food this good."

"I do not eat."

"I know, but you can still analyze it, learn about cuisine." Richard couldn't help but smile. Gemini had been very interested in learning, and Richard was curious what was Gemini's limit of learning, and how they learned. It also gave him good practice for when he would have to have the talk with his daughter in a few years. When he repeated what he had learned to Rina, Richard thought he was going to be spaced; as it was, Vorx was barely able to hold her from pummeling him.

"Is this something Creator Rina would not like me to learn about?"

"No, she needs food as well, and good cooking is all relative. But you learn quickly. I should get back to the party before they think I am having problems." Richard cut the call and ran the sink, mostly to put up the illusion of using the bathroom.

He rejoined the party to see a flock of Turians had joined the party, all of them dressed in what looked like a kaleidoscope dream. There was a general murmur of approval and Excitement as the group paraded in. Richard had no doubt the target was somewhere in the group, but singling her out would be hard.

Before working for Halona, Richard had not realized how much the Council's control had slipped and how much lawlessness ruled the Galaxy. Their target represented one such person; A smuggler of tainted eezo. This was target Beta. Their real target was someone pulling the strings. They doubted that person would show tonight, but a lead from target Beta would be invaluable.

"Anvil to brickwall, we are weightless on the count of 8" Vorx's voice came in over the sub-vocal intercom. Richard counted the 8th person from the front, and fixed the location of the Turian in his mind.

"Why am I brickwall?" Richard started to make his way to the large group.

"You're about as bright and subtle as one." Rina snarked at him.

"Now, now children, this is no way to behave. And besides, we can't all have pretty names." Vorx laughed. A half smile snuck onto Richard's face as he walked up to target Beta near the back of the pack. He sidled up along beside her and offered one of the drinks he had acquired.

"Seems like the party has just arrived. Now maybe there will be some culture here." Richard proffered the Turian brandy snifter as he enunciated in a slight British accent. He chided himself for the cliché of British accent equaling class, but he was on short notice.

"It appears so. We arrive and already I have good drink in my hands and a well-spoken companion to talk to." Richard could tell that she was just making polite conversation, and could tell by her posture that she did not think much of him.

"I'm very sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." Richard stepped back and made a bow, then in only slightly accented Turian, said, "My name is Richard Kadimus, man of many business." Richard grimaced yet again at the poor choice of words. Entrepreneur did not translate well into Turian.

"I am Velnoa Tamikim, heir to the Tamikim shipping empire. I must say, you have a much better grasp of the Turian language than most other non-Turians I have met. Although, I shouldn't be too surprised, as you have a Turian sur-name." Richard sent a pulse out on the sub-vocals. They had found Beta. Now it was time to begin the long dance of getting her alone so they could find the information they needed.

"What brings you to this gathering? I have never seen you before." Velnoa gently sipped her drink.

"I am new to your wonderful circle of commerce. I have mostly done business in Citadel space, along the human colonies. They prefer 'Reliable Richard' to an alien. I stick to basic commodities and services. While it is not as lucrative, this is the first party of this caliber I have ever attended, it allows me a secure base to make more lucrative business ventures."

"How shrewd! And a very good long term plan. I have come to know humanity as reckless and brash, always about the short term gain. I'm glad to see there are still some humans who can surprise me." Richard led her towards some comfortable chairs near a visible corner of the room.

"And may I ask what it is that you do?"

"Of course, though I can refuse. Let's see, my father owned a shipping company, and now that I lead the company, with his council, I have expanded our reach. We cover all of Turian space, half of citadel space, and nearly 20% of the Terminus systems." Richard held in a low whistle, but raised his eyebrows at the size of the operation.

"Well, I am glad to hear that most of Alliance space is out of your hands; that would ruin my business. I would start having to pay shipping costs." Richard smiled and Velnoa smiled.

"Would it be so bad to be paying me?" She asked coyly.

"I can think of more painful things." Richard hoped he had the right inflections in his voice for what he was trying to convey.

"Oh really? Perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me some later."

"It would be your pleasure." Velnoa laughed and flashed Richard a smile as one of her friends came over and dragged her to another group of people. Before she left, she dropped a gold inscribed card onto his lap. Richard picked it up and walked to the drinks table, and another group of people that contained Rina.

"Haha, nice moves kid." Vorx's voice came in over the sub-vocals. "Sounds like you're going to have a fun night." His guttural laughter rang out in Richard's ear.

"Was I broadcasting all of that?" Richard asked, mortified.

"Every juicy detail." Vorx was enjoying Richard's humiliation. Rina covered her mouth plate with one hand in a silent laugh, and once again Richard was envious of her helmet. The rest of the party seemed to pass in a blur. Richard checked the card a few times. It held a ship name, her name, and a time. As the night wore on and the time drew close, Richard excused himself to change and take a break.

Richard boarded Halona's ship to collect himself. They needed a plan, and he really did not want to be put into a situation where he would have to go through with what he insinuated.

"Don't worry Richard; we will be there to help before anything happens." Halona padded onto the ship. "The plan is the same as before, we just need to get her from her ship to ours."

"That leaves escape pods, hijacking, and space walk. I'm not a pilot, or a hacker, and most people don't find space armor as sexy as Krogan do…although, she is Turian…"

"Just get her into an escape pod and Gemini will do the rest."

"Does the prospect of mating not appeal to you Richard?" Gemini inquired.

"Not with her it does not."

"Why? I have found it is often the case for biological units to have sexual urges and desires, yet you seem to be upset by the prospect, not excited. Is there a species component?" Richard let out a sigh. Gemini was only a curious child…a child who was nearly indestructible with enormous strength, but a child.

"There is no species component to my hesitation; I have someone who can vouch for that. It is the fact that I do not like her as a person. I've told you about mating rituals of some animals. Personality, character, and looks are the mating rituals of sapient organics. Only when all three are not in opposition are sapient beings willing to copulate. Often the inclusion of alcohol and drugs breaks down the barriers between them, along with other side effects that render using them for copulation reprehensible." Gemini gave what Richard assumed was a curious look.

"Elaborate?"

"He is talking about non-consent, among other things. But the short of the matter is this: He is on duty, he does not like her, and even if he did, he would not want to take advantage of her." Halona had marked the points out on her fingers in the way of a very patient teacher. Gemini rocked their head back and forth as they assimilated this information, a habit he probably picked up from Rina. After a moment, their head came up. "There is time for more questions later. For now, Richard has a job to do, so do you."

Richard quickly changed into an outfit that had fewer layers. It was easier to take off and made that apparent to anyone who looked at it. He gave Gemini a pat on the shoulder plate as he left for Velnoa's ship. He felt his palms grow sweaty as he neared her ship. The guard at the docking bay let him pass once he showed the card, and pointed him to the correct room. He made sure to note where the escape pods were and took pains to remember the turns.

In too short of a time, in Richard's opinion, he was standing in front of Velnoa's door and lightly knocked. The door dinged open and he walked in. He caught himself before he let out a sigh of relief. She was dressed in an elegant, but not gaudy, evening gown and the room was very demure and subtle. Richard put on a smile and walked in, tanking the drink that she handed to him.

"So, you had a business deal for me?"

"I prefer to think of it was a _union_ of interests." Velnoa lounged back on the sofa and waved her hand for Richard to join her. As he was sitting down, he felt his knees buckle slightly. Velnoa's voice took on an almost dreamy quality.

"It's very dangerous to try and break into a new market, especially when you don't know the players. But I think you like a little danger in your play."

"Without danger, there is no reward. And I like a lot of reward." Richard wondered why he said that. It was a lot harder to think.

"Fuzzy little animals are cute, don't you think?"

"Very cute, I had a kitten once, he was so friendly." Richard started to panic; it was as if his mind was separated from his body by a fog. Slowly it dawned on him as Velnoa's smile grew. He had been drugged. At least, he hoped he was only drugged and not poisoned.

"Good, it seems as if the drug is finally working. I hope I did not disappoint you, but I knew you came with that Spectre. I will admit, I did have fun talking with you, but I cannot give you the information you want. Nor can I have your friend's joining you." She gave Richard a once over and sighed, a pout creasing her face. "You probably would have been a lot of fun too."

Velnoa walked over to a small dresser and pulled out a pistol. She checked the clip, turned towards Richard and fired. He had been shot before, but he always felt the pain and tried not to look at the injuries. This was a clean shot in his chest and in his current state, could do nothing but stare at the wound as it leaked dark arterial blood onto his clothing. The last thing Richard could remember was the darkness closing around that wound and a bright group of lights forming where the darkness was not.

Richard awoke; at least he thought he was awake, in a darkly lit room. He remembered the gunshot and found it odd that he could feel no pain. In fact, he felt nothing at all. _This cannot be heaven, too dark. And hell they say is full of torment. Is this Purgatory?_ He tried to move and found he could not. While still trying to puzzle out what had happened, his vision swam and lost focus. A bright light flashed in his face, and he lost consciousness.

The first thing Richard felt was a deep ache in his chest. He forced his eyes open with all of his might, and he was still in the dimly lit room. The idea that he was still alive gently strolled down the marathon of his train of thought. He looked down and noticed that his chest was a swath of bandages. The lights got slightly brighter at the movement, but not too bright. He felt a pressure on his head and it gently fell back to the surface it had been resting on. A mask floated over him, and three fingered gloves poked and prodded him.

"Richard, can you hear me?" Rina's voice fluttered into hearing. Richard gave a low moan. "Richard, just try to relax. You were hit badly and the ensuing chase did not help. We are a few hours away from the Citadel, but you will recover." Richard closed his eyes and consciousness left him again.

It was the slight bump that woke Richard. He opened his eyes and looked down. He was no longer strapped in, and Gemini was preparing a stretcher. They looked up as Richard tried to sit up and carefully helped him into a sitting position. Taking a deep breath, Richard stood and wobbled until Gemini caught him. Using Gemini as a crutch, he was able to make his way to the docking tube.

"Where is everyone else?" Richard asked groggily.

"Creator Rina has gone off to get you transport to a clinic, and Halona Spectre and Vorx have gone off to see your family." They slowly made their way to one of the benches near the ship and sat down. Richard tried not to inhale too deeply, as his chest still hurt, but it felt good to be out of the ship.

"Richard, I have many inquiries, if you would answer them." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Maybe one or two would be fine."

"Were you scared? When you thought your life would end, where you scared?" Gemini's voice sounded almost tender, for a monotone voice box. Richard did not even need to think about his answer. He had no pretense of being macho with Gemini, he opened up completely.

"Yes. I was terrified. I have no wish for my existence to end. I enjoy my life. I was also scared for my daughter. She has already lost her parents, and I would hate for her to lose another parent." Richard was staring off into space, his eyes boring into his hands.

Gemini was surprisingly quiet while they waited for a medical crew. About twenty minutes later, they heard sirens off in the distance. Gemini stood up and walked away, causing Richard's attention to snap back into focus. He looked over to see Halona and Vorx coming back, leading his mother and daughter. While his daughter had a worried look on her face, his mother's look could probably curdle milk.

His daughter rushed over to him the moment she saw him. Richard laboriously levered himself into a standing position in time to be nearly flattened by his daughter's embrace. She nuzzled him and then gave him a swift punch to the hip.

"Don't scare me like that. You promised you would be safe." His daughter scolded him.

"I'm sorry Niala. I didn't mean to worry you." Niala glared at him for a moment more before burying her face into his chest and nuzzling him. "You can ride with me to the hospital. They will probably want to hold me for a few days, but that gives us time to catch up on what you have been doing." Niala backed away as the medics came to put Richard on a stretcher. He noticed that Niala's mandibles were twitching nervously. He was about to put it down as being nervous about him as they loaded him into the ambulance, when his mother yelled out to him.

"She has a special friend!" It dawned on Richard what she meant as Niala made a whining noise. It was probably time for the talk. That thought alone made Richard terrified. He immediately keyed up his omni-tool and started looking up Turian sex –ed.

"Um, sir?" One of the medics said, clearly uncomfortable.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." He quickly closed the omni-tool as they sped off towards the clinic.

Richard had refused to bring up Niala's Special Friend while at the hospital, and no one else was inclined to bring it up either. Tannis and Hevek both visited him, for which he was glad. He had not seen either in a few months and seeing some familiar faces was welcome. Even Captain R'Donis came to visit him. He had not expected her to visit, but they talked about Niala for a little while, as well as the outcome of the smuggling investigation.

He was finally released after 3 days of observation. Niala was walking with him as they took their time strolling through the gardens. They had spent most of their time talking about how school was going and what extracurricular Niala would join. She wanted to join the Academic Decathlon team. It had been a year since he adopted her, but they were already close. It helped that Niala had no biotic abilities. As they came to a deserted part of the gardens, Richard decided it was time.

"So, Grandma tells me you have a Special Friend." Why were his palms so sweaty? Was this scarier than infiltration and knowing he would be shot at. With a force of will bred from years of biotic training, Richard relaxed himself.

"It's nothing. He's a Salarian, his name is Pevev, and he is on the Academic Decathlon team. I like spending time with him, and we often work together in class. But Salarians don't fall in love like most of us do."

"Have you told him how you feel?" Richard asks, holding his breath.

"Kinda." Niala turns away from him.

"Niala, my dear, you cannot just let this go by. Let him know. He probably already knows, or knows something is up, but you must make sure that he knows."

"What if it makes our friendship awkward?"

"That is true. But if you two are good friends, you should be able to be honest with each other about your feelings. I know as a single father I might not be the best role-model for that, but you have to trust me. Besides, what year is he?"

"He's a final year." Niala mumbles towards the flowers.

"You still have three more years in school. If you are good friends, this will not affect the friendship and you two will still keep in contact. If he doesn't take it well…At least you won't have to spend too much more time around him." Richard smiled and gave her a hug. They stood for a while, just watching the flowers and the insects.

"Oh, you got some mail while you were gone." Niala pipped up, pulling an envelope from her small bag.

"Really? Who would send me a letter?" Richard took it and looked it over. Only his name was on the outside. He gingerly opened the envelope and took out the fancy paper inside. There was a short note, followed by a poem. The script was long and flowing, but seemed inexperienced with Terran writing. The letter was very general in wishing him well, but the poem was almost sappy if not romantic.

"Well, whoever it is likes you and is not human," Niala had poked her head over her father's shoulder. "Is there anyone you want to talk about?" She stuck her tongue out at her dad.

"I wish. Honestly, this is out of the blue. I'll look into this later, Could just be from one of the people I saved. So, what has been going on with your physics courses? I hear you have been falling behind." Niala sighed as they slowly went off to their home.

"Richard, would you mind coming to the ship today? We finally have a lead." Halona's voice played out from Richard's Omni-tool.

"Sure. Let me drop Niala off at school and I will be there right away." Richard finished washing the dishes from breakfast. "Come on little dove, time for school."

"Dad, we haven't even left the house and you're embarrassing me already. Try not to do that in front of my friends."

"I promise. We have a lead; I may be gone for a few days. I'll let Grandma and Aunt Tannis know."

"Please be safe this time." Niala pleaded. The look on her face nearly broke his heart.

"This time we won't be sneaking around, so I will be much safer. If I get the chance, I'll pick you up something nice." Niala nodded as they strolled down the concourse. The school was only 10 minutes away, and when they arrived, Tannis's husband Remoras was there dropping the children off.

"Good Morning Remoras. I wanted to let you and Tannis know I may be going off on a mission. I shouldn't be too long."

"That's no problem. We know how it is. Can you send messages this time? I know Niala worries about you, and even the occasional short message will make her happy."

"I will try. I've already promised her I wouldn't get shot too badly this time." Remoras laughed at that.

"If you are around later this month, Tannis has some vacation time coming up, and we were hoping you might be able to watch the kids for a few days."

"I don't know if I will be, but I know Halona is reasonable. I can probably get the time off. I'll let you know later once I have spoken with her." Richard went to go hug Niala goodbye. As he let go, he noticed Gemini trotting down the street towards him.

"Richard, we have new developments. We are to meet Spectre Halona on Mezoina's 3rd moon. She had to leave immediately on another distress call. I have requisitioned a ship we may use."

"Ok, I'll be right along. Niala, have a great day, I'll see you shortly. Remoras, tell Tannis I said hi. Ok Gemini, what seems to be the problem." They started to jog away when Richard remembered something very important. "Oh, Remoras, if Niala says she is going to hang out or study with a Pevev, let her."

"WIll do. Now go, you have work." Remoras shook his head as Richard and Gemini ran off to the nearest dock.


	3. Family Secrets

"Richard, are you secured?" Gemini asked from the driver's seat of the small shuttle they requisitioned.

"Hold on, I'm finishing getting the ordinance secured. Ok, all set." Richard dropped into the co-pilot seat and secured himself as Gemini accelerated towards the Mass Relay. "What was so important they needed to leave so quickly and detour on our way there?"

"Unknown. I was sent to retrieve you when Creator Rina contacted me and told me of the change of plans. We are to gather preliminary information before they arrive and we complete the mission. We were given direct orders to stay out of sight." Gemini's voice took on a weird quality that Richard could not place.

"What do we know about the place we are going?"

"It is on a small Turian colony near the Terminus Systems. Mainly a small farming community and science outpost, the total population reaches fifty-thousand people. It is also a staging ground for Privateers through the Turian military. Halona Spectre believes that one of these bases is where our target is."

"Hmm. The Primacy is not going to like hearing that one of their black-op projects took some side jobs. What other recon would we need? We have the location of the base, right?"

"Also unknown. We will learn once Halona Spectre re-integrates with us. Until that time, we shall go through the relays." Richard leaned back in his seat as Gemini hit the relay and they jumped off to their destination.

The colony world of Heredes was a pleasant world, but on the very edge of the habitable zone, making it very cold. Most of the farms were greenhouse farms, but some native flora was also harvested, making large outdoor farms broken up by greenhouse farms. It seemed like a nice and quiet place to Richard. They had landed 5 days ago at the small space port and were taking a small private transport to the outlands, where the Privateer bases were.

Two of the three bases had been abandoned for at least a few weeks and picked clean long before. The files had been erased and the storage areas were completely empty. There were no corpses and no blood stains, but after a day of searching, they discovered scorch and pock marks made by relativistic weapons.

What made the situation eerier was that they had no contact from anyone in Halona's party since they left the Citadel. Richard had sent a message to Niala, telling her of the beauty of the world, but that was it. Richard was not even sure the message got out. Every noise sent shivers down his spine and he was getting jumpy. It did not help the Gemini had no sense of imagination and very little fear, so they seemed to be working fine.

The third base was thankfully populated. Richard felt a lot happier when they saw ships leaving and entering as well as a few foot patrols. He let out a sigh and whispered thank you.

"Richard, why does seeing pirates make you happy? Is it similar to the Krogan need to fight and have an enemy?"

"No, this is relief from fear. The fact that we found no bodies, no blood, and no items of any personal nature had me feeling that there was something not natural happening. Almost supernatural. It is a fear response to knowing something is happening, but there are missing main components to what is happening for it to fit in reality. It's called the Twilight Zone effect."

Gemini looked questioningly at Richard. "But we know what happened to the other Privateers. They were killed and their possessions were taken."

"There were no bodies, there was no blood. It was too sterile for murder, but there was plenty of trash around that sterilizing the place would have picked up. And what about Halona? She should have contacted us a few days ago. Her detour was only supposed to take 1 day. She is 4 days overdue. Let's continue to scout this place. If they do not contact us within 20 standard hours, I think we should evaluate our chances of infiltration by ourselves."

"Affirmative. I too am concerned about the lack of contact with Creator Rina. There may be a communication blackout, preventing them from contacting us. Should we head back to the port before we infiltrate?"

"That is a much better idea Gemini. Do you mind if I borrow a scope?" They spent the next 12 hours slowly walking and sneaking around the compound, watching the guard and ship patterns. After making a full circuit, the only way they could see to sneak in was an aerial drop of Gemini onto the top of the compound. Unfortunately, Richard could not fly the shuttle.

They discussed this on the way back to the shuttle. By the time they had reached the spaceport, it was full dark and the twenty hour limit was almost up. Gemini had offered to do the flight alone, but Richard wouldn't allow them to be split by that far of a distance.

Richard and Gemini took a rest to recharge at the shuttle. There was no communication from Halona by the time Richard woke up, and no one had replied to their messages.

"How angry would Rina be if I crashed the shuttle into the compound?"

"If you survived the crash, I estimate your chances of survival being under 30%."

"Darn. I only have one other plan, and I doubt it will work." Gemini gave him a quizzical look. "I know how to speak Turian, my last name is Turian. I could send them a message pretending to be an official coming to check in on them. It's not too likely to work, will alert them we are here, but it is the only option either of us has thought of that has a chance of success." Richard and Gemini were sitting with their elbows on their knees, staring into each other's face.

"The leader's name is Tomara Redicus."

"Redicus…Why do I remember that name? Never mind, it's time to call them." Richard cleared his throat as Gemini set up the transmission. The call picked up after a few seconds and a woman's face entered the screen.

"Who is this?" She demanded.

"I am Inspector Kadimus, may I presume to be speaking to madam Redicus?" The figure nodded. " I have been sent to investigate some irregularities on the shipments leaving from here. It has come to my attention that of the three ports here, your exports have dramatically increased while the others have been running low for a while. I am here to tour these places and see if you merit a promotion." The woman visibly blanched in surprise. Her eyes narrowed and her mandibles clenched.

"We don't have inspections. We are Black ops and…"

"Madam, I don't think you realize the importance of your work and what it means to the expansion of the Primacy. If you are as successful as my reports show you to be, you and your crew will gain commendations, promotions, and you will have helped your people immensely."

"I hadn't realized our operations meant that much. Wait, why are they sending a human?"

"Because, I am a loyal servant who cannot be directly connected back to those with a vested interest in you."

"That makes sense. I will make preparations for you to come in and inspect the facility. We will be ready within the hour." The call cut out. Richard sat down and started to laugh. It spread uncontrollably until he was rolling on the ground, clutching his sides and laughing. Gemini looked on in bemused curiosity.

When Richard finally calmed down, he looked at Gemini's innocent and blank flashlight head and felt another wave of laughter coming over him. He took a few deep breaths and relaxed. "I think it is time to change into something a little more formal." He quickly changed into his formal uniform and got into the rental vehicle with Gemini. They sped off to the compound.

Both of them were only armed with their Omni-tools and a pistol each. Gemini took the Talon and Richard opted for a Tempest. Both were more concealable than a Widow and a Katana. Richard cursed at himself as they approached the compound. Once again, he was going into a dangerous situation with little to no armaments and only the lightest of barrier amplifiers. He whispered a small encouragement to himself as they approached the gates.

The guard at the gates approached. "What's your business here?" He appeared to be ex-military by his bearing.

"I am Inspector Kadimus. Madam Redicus is expecting me." Richard said, not turning his head to look at the guard.

"Wait here." The guard started talking over a com-system. After a few seconds, the guard nodded and waved them through. "Go to the door with the _hrjayk_ above it and there will be an escort to meet you." Gemini pulled in near the door and the two of them got out. Richard placed on a pair of sunglasses as he got out of the car. It was mostly for show, but would help protect him from the flash bangs he had insisted they take.

"Richard, I have tapped into their communication systems. We can listen in, but our transmissions are still on a different channel. I also have a query: what did you say before the guard stopped us?"

"It was just a little motivational phrase from a comic book I read when I was young." The door swung open for them and a young Turian met them. She was pretty and seemed very friendly as she led them to the Main office, but Richard was sensing she was nervous. It was in the way the mandibles jittered when she talked. She showed them to a large double door and told them to go in.

"Miss, what is your name?" Richard asked, with a small tone of detachment.

"Um, Pelora Mitinor sir." She half mumbled.

"Ms. Mitinor, thank you." Richard and Gemini walked into the room leaving the bemused young lady behind.

The room they entered could only be described as Spartan. There was very little ornamentation and only the bare minimum of storage and seats. The operation looked very military, not betraying any hints of going rogue. The woman behind the desk was well built for a Turian, being nearly as broad as a Krogan. She stood up and towered over Richard and Gemini, a Carnifex strapped to her hip.

Tomara Redicus walked around the desk and stopped in front of the pair, not offering a hand or even a salute. She glared at the two of them, trying to make them back down. It was a futile gesture with Gemini, who still did not understand fear, but Richard felt that without his sunglasses his knees would be knocking. He took a deep breath and slowly took the glasses off, hanging them from his breast pocket.

"I'm glad you were as amiable to the inspection as you were. I am very impressed with what I have read about your operation. There are many higher-ups who are impressed, but not a few who are suspicious. I am here to allay their concerns and give credit where credit is due. I would prefer to begin as soon as possible."

"Well, then let's get on with it. If this will get the generals off my back, all the better." Tomara walked to the door. Gemini and Richard fell in behind her.

"Record audio only." Richard said to Gemini. Turning to Tomara, he said, "Just for notes for later." They walked through the operation, which mainly seemed to be ship yard and weapons storage, with some rooms for precious cargo the group "salvaged." For the most part, it seemed to be a normal Privateer group with no big illegal infractions. After they had interviewed a few of the crew members and went passed the back storage rooms, Tomara was leading them back to the front.

"As you can see, we do everything by the book." Tomara said between clenched teeth.

"And that is what I will tell the naysayers. You are a shrewd captain, beloved by her crew, and honorable to a fault. I just have one more question." Tomara stopped dead in her tracks.

"And what would that be?" her fists clenched.

"What is in that room." Richard pointed to a door down a small hallway. The door was locked and warning signs were placed around it.

"That is where our hazardous waste is stored till it can be cleaned away."

"I do need to see it."

"I cannot let you. It's very dangerous." Tomara grabbed Richard's arm and tried to lead him away. There was something familiar about her face. Gemini appeared behind Tomara with his pistol under her chin.

"Please, I insist." Richard's voice dropped all politeness and gained a harsh quality. The anger in Tomara's eyes was evident as she marched off to the door at gunpoint. When they reached the door, Tomara stopped until Gemini prodded her with the gun. Reluctantly, she unlocked the door and let them in. Gemini went in first, having the flashlight built in. Richard had drawn his side arm and was covering both Tomara and Gemini.

"Richard, I have found evidence of organic life recently in here. There are also traces of blood and synthetic fibers and plastics." Richard moved into sight of Gemini and quickly scanned the room. He suddenly felt a heavy impact as Tomara rammed her shoulder into his stomach and sent him flying into the room. The door slammed shut as klaxons started blaring.

"Well, that could have gone better. Are there any other ways out of the room?" Richard groaned from the floor.

"Negative. There is an opening in the floor, but it is too small for either of us to fit in." Gemini came over and lifted Richard into a standing position. "And the door is locked from the outside." Richard cursed as there was nothing for them to do but wait to be slaughtered. There was a large group of Turian Commandos and pirates out there, with assault arms and armor, while they were armed with little peashooters. Richard could hear boots tromping down the hall towards them.

Richard's head rang against the door as the building shook. He backed up, taking out one of the flash bangs, arm cocked back to throw. The door did not open. The building continued to shake and reverberate. There was a muffled explosion from the direction of the hanger.

"Either someone got pissed off at them or our backup has finally arrived. Either way, I think a quick exit is in order. Do we have any way of opening the doors?" Gemini shook their head. "So we are waiting for a lucky shot or for someone to think they can finish us off." Richard sat down behind the door, and laid his head back against the wall to wait.

The battle lasted for about 18 minutes (Richard kept asking Gemini for an update on the time), before the power finally died. Gemini's head was the only light in the room, and Richard decided to try and force the door. Turning on his Omni-tool's flashlight, Richard found the latch and began to haul on the doors. Gemini joined in and they were able to slowly pull the doors open to about half a meter. The secondary power on outside of the room and the klaxons were still blaring. They both drew their sidearms, a flash bang and were just about to charge out when they heard a loud roar and most of a Turain came tumbling through the doorway. They poked their heads out to see a familiar face on the opposite end of a barrel facing them.

"Humans have a saying 'you are a sight for sore eyes', I think you might be a sight to cause sore eyes." Richard called out, having come out from behind the door. Vorx was covered in matted gore and walking with a limp. He had a metal spar sticking from the side he was limping on, but did not seem to notice it. Richard pointed to it and Vorx pulled it out, tossing the spar aside.

"Still a prettier sight than you, at least it's a fair contest now." Vorx and Richard started laughing. Gemini stooped and picked up two rifles, handing one to Richard. "Come on, there may still be some pyjaks left for you to kill." The three of them set off down the hallway.

"Where the heck were you all? We were stuck here with no contact from you." Richard shouted over the klaxons.

"We ran into a little trouble and a deeper investigation. We got all of your messages, but realized you were not getting ours. We were okay with that until you made the plan to raid the place alone. That's what got us out here. I'll fill you in on the details once we get out of here."

Richard peeked around the corner and saw a hasty barricade with half a dozen pirates manning it. "You disrupt them and I'll charge," Vorx ordered. Richard tossed a flash bang, and flipped around the corner the moment after it went off to send a shockwave that dismantled the barricade. Vorx charged the Turians and flattened two of them. Gemini and Richard provided support fire, taking out the remaining pirates.

By the time they had taken the doors, they had all run out of ammunition and Richard punched the doors open. Tomara was behind her desk with a leveled rifle. She opened fire on Richard, shredding his barriers. He ducked back outside of the room.

"Vorx, can you distract her? My barriers are gone and we are out of flash bangs." Vorx grunted and charged into the room. Richard gathered his energy as Vorx's shields activated to stop the barrage aimed at him. Richard flipped around the corner and charged in at Tomara. He impacted her and she crashed into the wall, dropping her gun. Richard dove for her gun and scooped it up, turning it on her still prone form.

Gemini walked over to the body and crouched over her. "Life Signs, Negative. Severe head trauma." Richard lowered his gun.

"Vorx, I'm not one to get philosophical about killing, but are we sure this was the target?" Richard asked, starting at the resting face of the dead Turian.

"Yeah, I'm sure. That is what we were investigating. We had to contact Captain R'Donis, but we found that not only was this pyjack running tainted eezo, but she was also running drugs and slaves from her raids. She apparently went rogue about three months ago when she destroyed a smuggling ring. Rather than dissolve it, she took over it. Our bust of Red got the information we needed."

The room fell quiet as Gemini cut the klaxons. Vorx got on the coms and radioed the all clear. A few minutes passed before Halona and Rina came running into the room. Rina gave Gemini a quick embrace, which was reciprocated, and Halona walked over to the body on the floor.

"How did she die?" Halona's voice came out as a menacing growl.

"I did," Richard swallowed hard. "She was barricaded behind her desk. We were out of ammunition and I tried to charge her. I thought she would have shields on, but she flew into the wall and broke her head. Did we need to capture her alive?" Richard shifted his weight as Halona slowly stood up. She sighed and gave one last look at the body.

"Do you know who that is Richard?" Halona sighed.

"Other than being a Turian Commando and pirate, no. Are you saying there is something I should know about her?" Richard took another look at her, "I get a feeling of recognition when I look at her, but I don't know why I recognize her."

"She is…was, Niala's mother." Halona's voice was soft and tender, but it had a faraway quality to it. Richard dropped the gun and started at the body, horror slowly creeping over him. He had killed his daughter's mother. It did not matter that the death was an accident, he had still caused it. He felt nausea taking over when an echo hit his terror like a meteor. _She was running the slaving ring that included the one Red was running. You rescued your daughter from there._

"No, she was not Niala's mother. That woman died when she let her daughter be taken by slavers. This woman was just a pirate." Richard said the words more to convince himself than anyone else.

"What are you going to tell Niala?" Rina asked. Richard looked at her, his expression a mask of pain.

"I don't know."

Richard knocked lightly on the door in front of him. He heard a voice from inside and an Asari he did not recognize answered the door.

"Hello. My name's Richard. I'm here to see Ms. R'Donis. Is she in?"

"Mom, there is someone looking for you, his name is Richard." The young asari called into the rooms.

"I'll be out in a minute Richard." Came the reply from the back. Richard waited patiently till Captain R'Donis came out. He was a little shocked by her choice of attire. He was wearing a normal short sleeve with trousers, but Captain R'Donis came out with a green lacing blouse and matching skirt. It accented her dark indigo skin very well. "I'll be back later dear, have a good night. And Richard, please call me by my first name, Kyana, you don't work for me anymore." She hugged her daughter and they started walking towards the gardens in the distance.

Richard remained quiet for a long time. His voice was soft when he broke his silence. "Thank you for making some time for me. I have a lot on my mind."

"I'm glad to help. I have you to thank for reintroducing me to my cousin and she speaks highly of you. So what do you have on your mind? Is it about Niala and that talk you need to have." Richard's ears turned a little red.

"Sort of. I mean I do want to talk about that, but this is a much different talk I need to have with her." They reached the gardens and found a quiet bench to sit on. Richard was wringing his hands, his knuckles white. "What do you know about Tomara Redicus?"

"Redicus…Isn't she the leader of that smuggling ring that you helped break? I only know because Halona asked me for the file on the raid and interrogation of Red." Kyana knitted her brows together and clasped her hands.

Richard nodded. "Yes, she was. We were there to kill or capture her. We got separated and things went bad quickly. We finally cornered her, and I tried a gamble to grab her, but I miscalculated and she died. It was only after that I found out I had a new connection to her. Her real name was Nadalash Trevian" Realization slowly dawned on Kyana and a look of shock appeared on her face.

"She was Niala's mother?" Richard hung his head and nodded. "How could she let her own daughter be kidnapped like that?"

"We found out it was an initial part of her plan to disappear and start anew as a pirate. We caught her before she could. I don't know what to tell Niala. I feel that the woman stopped being her mother the moment she allowed her to be sold into slavery. It is true, from a certain point of view."

"Perhaps you could tell her the truth?"

"What, that I killed her mother! I can see that going over well." Richard spat out. He instantly regretted his tone. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can do that." He said in a calmer voice. Kyana placed a hand on Richard's back.

"No, you tell her that her mother is dead, but you punished the person responsible. As you said, Tomara was no longer her mother when you killed her." Kyana gently whispered to him. "Niala loves you, and it won't matter to her. If you want, you can tell her the whole truth when she is older."

Richard thought about this. Everything Kyana said was true from his point of view, but he hated the idea of lying to his daughter. Their new bond was built on honesty and trust, and he was afraid she would learn the truth from someone other than him.

"Richard, look at me." Kyana's warm hand shifted his face to look at her, her fuchsia eyes boring deeply into him. "I know you are worried. The only people who know about this are Halona, Rina, Gemini, Vorx, you, and me. None of your new team mates will say anything, and you can trust me. I have some good reasons to keep it secret." She smiled at him and let her hand linger on his face for a moment. "She will learn only if you want her to."

She stood up and offered a hand to Richard. He took it and they walked along the gardens in silence, privately enjoying the other's company. The evening flowers were fully in bloom, and the fragrance was intoxicating. It was only when his stomach rumbled that Richard had realized how much time had gone by. He looked down, surprised to see he was still holding Kyana's hand.

"So, howdidyouhavetheresponsiblesextalkwithyourdaughter?" Richard blurted out the words so fast there were no spaces between them.

"I just told her the truth about sex." Kyana chuckled. "Why are you so nervous? If you need information, there are some very informative texts out there for you. And besides, she is old enough to be getting it at school anyways."

"Oh, yeah, right." The look of relief was clear on Richard face. "I guess I'm still nervous about being a father. There is a whole world of things I don't know that a Turian mother would know about."

"What about her Auntie Tannis?" Richard's hand flew to his forehead. "You forgot she has been a Turian mother three times before, haven't you?" Kyana's clean, deep laugh rang out across the gardens, causing the others around to look over.

"I cannot believe I have been so thick headed about all of this. Thank you, you've helped me a lot with this. Is there something I can do to repay you?"

"I can think of a few things, but for now, just go home and spend some time with your daughter." Kyana gave his hand a squeeze and walked away, leaving Richard to stare after her. He sat down to try and sort out his confused emotions. His guilt and relief warred at each other, with dread as the battlefield. There was now a new force on the horizon now, and he was unable to fully pin that. Was it love or just lust? He had known Captain R'Donis for three years, and she had always been stern and very professional, so he had little chance to get to know her. But seeing her out of uniform, she seemed so friendly and open. Maybe he was reading too far into this. Asari were known to be a very empathic and friendly race, so she was probably helping a friend. Richard repeated that in his head till he felt he could believe it and walked off to his daughter's school.

It was an hour before Niala got out of class, so Richard decided to grab some food, remembering he had not eaten in nearly a day and he had extended his biotic abilities to their max. He grabbed a large rice and vegetable bowl and sat outside the café, enjoying the people walking by. This area was mostly Turian, but there was a prominent group of Salarians and humans as well. Asari were rare in this area.

The school bell rang and a few minutes later Niala came out of the doors, animatedly talking to a young Salarian, whom he assumed was Pevev. Niala noticed Richard sitting at the café, made a wait gesture to Pevev, and ran over to her father. Richard stood up and embraced her as she rocketed into him.

"I promised to come back in one piece."

"I know. I'm glad to see you. We got worried when you were gone for a few extra days. Captain R'donis came around asking a few questions, but no one else said much about the lack of communication. I think they did not want me to worry. I got the letter you sent, did you get mine?" Niala looked at him hopefully.

"Yes, once I get back here I received it. Is that Pevev?" Richard motioned to the Salarian who was waiting for Niala.

"Yes. I was going over his house to work on a project. Is that ok?" Niala asked hopefully.

"Of course it is my dear. I'll be back for a while, so we will have time to catch up." Niala hugged him and ran off to Pevev. When she reached him she gave him a peck on the cheek and they strolled off. Richard felt a weight lift from his shoulders. She was growing up. Not just in size (she was nearly as tall as Richard was), but she was maturing quickly. And she was handling growing up very well.


	4. Chapter 4: Budding Love

Niala was awakened by the smell of fresh meat sizzling on the stove. Her eyes refused to open and she tried to get back to sleep, but her stomach growled and her mouth was watering. Giving in to her hunger, she levered herself up and put on a light dress for school. She went with a yellow one, mostly because she knew that Salarian women often wore full body dresses. While she did not like the feel of full dresses, Pevev liked yellow, and she was hoping he would like her dress.

She came out into the kitchen to see her dad at the stove, apron and all, making breakfast for her. Normally, she had a small cold breakfast before running off to school, but for the last week his cooking had woken her up early. She realized he was humming a tune as he was cooking. She rolled her eyes as she realized what song it was. He could not carry a tune for his life.

"You're in a good mood today. Did you have a date last night?" Niala giggled as her father blushed as he served up the food.

"It wasn't a date really. At least I don't think so."

"Well, you are being a little secret about it. If you were with Aunt Tannis or Uncle Ramoras over even Hevek, you would have said right away. Or if it was someone from work you would have made a reason as to why you cannot tell me. Except Gemini, you would have brought them over." Niala looked smugly at Richard.

"It was just a talk with a friend. I had some things on my mind that I needed to talk about. It helped, and honestly, seeing that Pevev likes you back put me into a great mood." It was Niala's turn to blush, but her smile was too big to let embarrassment defeat it.

"I am too. I know it will not be something for the rest of my life, but I'm going to enjoy it." Niala preened as she chowed down. "Auntie Tannis let me know that. She said it was ok and I could date him for now."

"Your Aunt Tannis is a very smart and shrewd woman. Listen well to her." Richard ate his food a little more sedately than Niala. "Do you have any events coming up?"

"There is the science fair in one month; I have the Ward Semi-finals for the Academic Decathlon this weekend."

"What is your project on?" Richard put their plates into the sink.

"The long term effects of Mass Effect fields on different types of matter. If you want, you can come to the science fair. The Decathlon on the other hand has no spectators. Got to run, I don't want to be late." She gave her dad a quick hug and then flew out the door.

She ran quickly to school so she and Pevev would have some time alone before classes. It was the one time of the day they could actually act like a couple, since the amount of homework and studying they had to do took up most of their evenings. A smile crossed Pevev's flat face as he saw Niala and they embraced.

"Is there something wrong? You seem a little distracted." Pevev said, looking up at Niala. Despite being closer to full size than Niala, Salarians were still a short species and she had been growing fast lately, stimulating new feelings in him.

"Beyond hoping you'll notice the dress; I'm worried about my dad. He seemed happy this morning, but when he looked at me, I thought he looked sad. It's probably nothing though."

"Do you think he might be keeping a secret from you? Does he have any reason to?"

"It could be about my family. Maybe they found a distant relative who wants to take me in. Turian law would allow that." Niala shrugged. Pevev noticed her body shift as she shrugged a lot more than he did a few weeks ago.

"Should you ask him? Is it something he wants to tell you? Perhaps it is something he wants to keep from you, at least for now." They linked hands as they walked to class.

"Maybe, but I'm old enough. I'm nearly an adult. I want to know if it is something to do with me." Niala complained.

"Maybe we could ask him after school. Or you can do it yourself, if you want."

"No, I might not have the courage to without you there." Niala flashed him a smile and gave him a peck as they separated to go to their classes. The day dragged on for Niala, as she was worried about what her father might be keeping secret from her. After first period, she realized she needed to focus on class and was able to focus for the rest of the day. But in the back of her mind, that anxiousness was eating away at her.

Richard watched Niala fly out the door and chuckled. He remembered being that young and having a crush. He whistled as he went about the chores, cleaning the house and getting ready for the day. He decided to see if Hevek was free for a bite to eat and called him up.

"Hello Hevek, long time no see. I was wondering if you would like to grab lunch today and catch up."

"Sure, I have my lunch hour at 7am. Come by and we can talk. Are you a maid now?" Richard looked down at the apron he was wearing.

"No, I was just doing chores." Hevek gave a grunt of disbelief and hung up. Richard continued about his normal exercise routine and freshened up before heading out to meet Hevek. He took the public transportation to the hospital where Hevek worked and waited around for him to come out. A few minutes after 7 a disheveled Hevek came out and plopped himself down by Richard and ordered some lunch.

"So, how is working for a Spectre? I heard you needed to get patched up a few times." Hevek smiled as he scooped up some of his soup. "Oh, that hits the spot."

"It's not too bad. Not too different from what I was doing with C-sec, I just get to see more of the Galaxy." Richard bit into his sandwich and relaxed into the conversation. "How has work been without me around?"

"Things have gone back to normal. My nights are a little quitter without you. You were the crazy one in Captain R'Donis's group, so most of the other officers take it easier. Plus we have not had as big a raid as you did last time in a while. Mainly, I deal with accidents now. I rather prefer seeing the levels of idiocy people can get to. It's almost fascinating." They both laughed. When the laughter died, Richard put on a serious face.

"Can I ask you a serious question?"

"There's a first for everything, so go ahead."

"I'm keeping a secret from my daughter. Well, two secrets, but there is a very big one I am keeping, and I don't know if I should tell her or not. I'm just worried that she will find out I am hiding something and pester me about it till I tell her. I am ready to give her some of the secret, but not the whole secret. Do you have any idea how I can do that?"

Hevek sat still for a while, fingers interlaced, before he gave an answer. "I think you should tell her the part you are ready to tell, but let her know that there is more to the story, but you will tell her later. If it is something she could guess from the information you were willing to tell her, then just tell her all of it." Hevek spooned some more soup into his mouth.

They sat in silence for a while before Richard let out a sigh. "You're right. I should just tell her the whole truth." Hevek smiled and finished his soup.

"Well, I need to get back into work. I hope it goes well." Richard payed the bill and went for a stroll. He stopped by a small boutique and grabbed a random book to read. To his disappointment, it was a romance, but he decided to read it to pass the time. It was horrid drivel, and he deleted it after he finished. He went home and decided to prepare a light dinner and get out some of the paperwork that Halona had shoved his way. He was in the middle of a report on the amount of food being shipped out of a system under suspicion of drug trafficking when Niala and Pevev walked in.

"Dad, I have something I want to ask you." Niala said cautiously. Richard motioned for them to take a seat at the table and he got them some water. "You seem sad since you came back from this last mission. I know you had that date, but there is something else eating at you. Every time you look at me I see sorrow in your eyes! Guilt even! Tell me what is going on. Why do you look at me like that?" Niala's voice broke as burning tears streaked down her face.

"I didn't mean to cause you any anguish, but I have to tell you. It has to do with your mother."

"My mother is dead! The pirates who took me killed her."

"No they didn't." Niala sat down, stunned at the certainty in Richard's voice. "They spared her and she took them over. They tried to ransom her to her unit, but they raided the pirate's lair and freed her. But they went rogue and took over the operation. Your mother had changed her name and was running the operation. We were sent there to stop her by any means necessary." Richard paused before taking a deep breath.

"We got separated and our plans went awry. We ended up outside of her room and she was firing at us. None of us had any ammo left and I decided to charge her, the same way I did to save you. I had hoped to just take her down, but she had no shields up and went flying. She hit the wall and that was it. I didn't mean to, I only meant to subdue her, not kill her." Richard's voice had grown quite. "It was only afterwards that I learned who she was. That's what I have worried about telling you all this week. I'm sorry."

The silence that followed Richard's confession was absolute. Richard was unsure how she would take the lie. He was hoping that she never learned that her mother was willing to get rid of her in such a horrible way. Niala was crying with silent sobs, while Pevev held her hands. Richard went over to Niala and have her a gently hug. To his surprise she did not pull away, but leaned into him. She wiped away her tears and looked up at her father.

"Why didn't you tell me this when you got back? You are my dad; I thought she was dead all those months ago, and to me, she still was because she never tried to find me. You should trust me by now." She buried her head in his chest and her sobs came out heavy and wet. The three of them sat there for half an hour before Niala had cried herself tired and was falling asleep. Richard carried her to her bed and tucked her in.

"If you want you can stay for dinner. I have some paperwork I have to do." Richard started on the files he had been working on. Pevev sat there for a few minutes before he started to work on his homework. Dinner came and went with both of them finishing their work before Niala came out of her room. She grabbed some food and sat next to Pevev, eating in a half-asleep way. When she finished, she leaned against Pevev and started to nap. Pevev's face grew worried and he looked at Richard, holding his hands in the air.

"You don't have to worry. Here, move her to the couch and I'll get a blanket. She can rest on your shoulder there. I'll let your family know you are probably going to be here till late." Richard helped position his daughter on the couch with her boyfriend and draped her favorite blanket over her. He walked out of the apartment and made a call to Pevev's parents.

After a short talk with his parents, who were fine with him staying the night if it came to be, Richard felt a lot better. His daughter was upset with him for keeping secrets, not for what the secret had been. He felt as if a huge milestone had been crossed in their relationship, and he was happy.

His happiness did not have a chance to bask for long as after a few minutes he received a message. It was from Kyana.

 _Hello Richard,_

 _I have been invited to a political function up on the Presidium. It is rather long with quite a few speeches, but there is a reception and a dance floor after, and I am allowed a +1. Though I know you probably are not interested in politics, but it is the opening of an orphanage and school. I was hoping you wouldn't find it too much a chore to be my date. The dinner is tomorrow night. Meet me at my house at 14 O'clock._

 _~Kyana_

Richard read the message a few times, unsure of what to do. He had no plans tomorrow and Niala was at the Academic Decathlon all day. While he did not want to go to a long boring function, he was moving up in the world, and he was willing to sit through almost anything to spend time with Kyana. And that was the feeling that caught him most off guard. He had a few girlfriends, but never more than a childhood crush.

It took Richard nearly half an hour to decide that he was going to go. He replied that he would be more than happy to join her, and he would wear his dress uniform. Butterflies were going crazy in his stomach and he was giddy as he finished the letter and sent it off. He took a few minutes to compose himself before he went back inside.

Pevev and Niala were no longer on the couch. The door to her room was shut. Richard stood paralyzed with indecision before heading to his room. The next morning, Richard was up first and had prepared a breakfast for all three of them. Niala and Pevev were late getting out of her room. They both looked sheepish as they came into the kitchen. Richard served them each a plate and sat down to breakfast.

"Don't worry. Did anything happen last night?" They both blushed. "Well, did you follow the safety rules you were taught." Niala nodded, too embarrassed to eat. "Then there is nothing to worry about. Now eat your breakfast before you have to go to the Decathlon." They slowly started eating and Richard cleaned up the dishes.

"Sir, are you sure everything is ok? I mean…" Pevev was rubbing his neck nervously.

"Of course. My daughter is old enough to make some decision autonomously. She has enough knowledge from school, myself, and her aunt to make an informed decision. Plus, I have never heard of a interspecies child between a Turian and Salarian, so there was not too much worry in that department." Richard gave Pevev a small smile. "You were there when she needed comfort, she told me she was safe, and I do not have to worry about the action altering her life in a large way. As long as you two are ok, that is fine for me, for now."

Niala had come out of her bedroom, dressed for school in a two layer top and pants. Her eyes seemed to be a little swollen, and she seemed tired, but she walked over to Richard and gave him a huge hug. "How are you feeling little dove?"

"Tired, sad, but I feel better than last night. I'm glad you told me. I just need time to processes it. We should get going, the bus will leave soon." She gave her dad a hug, grabbed Pevev's hand and kissed him, and they were off. Richard was now more worried about his evening, than his daughter's. He had received a reply from Kyana telling him to show up an hour early so they could get ready and make it to the function on time. He decided to see what the rest of the group was up to. He went to the docking bay where their busted ship was being repaired.

During the five days that Gemini and Richard were alone, the ship had been attacked by a small pirate warband. They had destroyed 2 of their ships and captured the third, but that still left Halona's ship heavily damaged. Rina and Gemini were overseeing the repairs while Vorx was getting new weapons for the ship. Halona was nowhere to be found. There was nothing for Richard to do, so he just spent some time answering all of Gemini's questions that did not cause Rina to whip scrap metal at him.

Richard took a shower and shaved before he headed over to Kyana's. He was already in his dress uniform when he arrived. Kyana answered the door this time. She was wearing a full length dress of crimsons and yellows. It was not form fitting like most modern dresses, but Richard could not tear his eyes away. Kyana smiled and pulled him inside. They had an hour before the function and Kyana decided that Richard needed a new outfit. She opened a closet near the back of her house that had a variety of male clothes in it.

"What, you think you are the first Human male I have had over? I keep a closet of clothes for the necessary occasions. Remember, I have lived for over five of your centuries and i have two daughters." She pulled out a few shirts and eyed Richard with them, finally settling on a blue one to replace his uniform. She took his uniform off and put on the shirt, making a few adjustments. When she was satisfied, Kyana draped her arms around Richard's neck and gave him a deep kiss, "I think it is time we head out."

Richard was in a weird state of mind as Kyana wrapped her arm in his and they walked off to the function. Most of the function was a blur, boring speeches he could not wrap his mind around. The other people at their table were friendly, but of a higher social standing than Richard. They were mostly talking about the local season of entertainment. Richard was out of his depth with this type of entertainment, although he was fast losing surprise in what he was learning about Kyana and her tastes.

The one part he remembered clearly, or at least clearer than the rest of the evening, was when the call came in. They had been talking about a symphony that Richard actually recognized (one of the few human ones done by Vivaldi that had been adapted to Quarian instruments) and his omni-tool had been vibrating. He had quickly checked the caller ID. It was not Niala, but came from Gemini.

"If you all will excuse me, I need to check on something. I know it's most inopportune, as we have finally found a topic I am versed in."

Richard stood up and before he could excuse himself, Kyana stopped him and whispered into his ear, "Don't be too long." she kissed his ear and gave him a smile. The matriarch curves and lines on her face softened. She was no longer the hard faced captain he had known for the past three years. That smile, and the look in her eyes almost made him forget about Gemini's insistent calls. It took all of his willpower and he took himself out of the room to answer Gemini's call.

"Gemini, this had better be important."

"I would not call if it was not important Richard." Gemini's voice came over the comlink.

"Gemini, I know you would not call if it was not important." Richard pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "What is the problem?"

"Creator Rina has disappeared. I cannot locate her, nor can Citadel security. She is not responding to normal communications."

"Perhaps she wanted a few hours alone. You are a person, even though Inorganic, and she may have wanted some private time. What makes you think something is wrong?"

"I received a communication on our secure channel. It was not a coherent message, it was only a short garbling of signals, but she would only use that channel if something was wrong. It is a locked channel only we have access to. Halona and Vorx are off on a small mission, and I have no one else to request help from." Richard groaned inwardly, knowing that his evening was ruined.

"Where are you? I need to let Captain R'Donis know the situation." Richard felt the good mood he was feeling start to dissipate.

"I am two minutes from your position, I will meet you outside when you are finished." The call ended and Richard walked back inside. He found Kyana and the other at the table were engaged in conversation. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. He felt a pang of regret as he watched Kyana laugh. _It's only one night. She'll understand._ He gently laid his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm afraid a colleague of mine has misplaced something and they need my help recovering it. I wish I could stay, but duty calls." Kyana reached up to his cheek. "This may take a while, we may have to continue this another night." He gave Kyana's cheek a kiss and went out to meet Gemini. He saw the Geth gently wringing the crochet hood Rina made for them.

"Richard. Thank you for coming. I am very worried about Creator Rina. She told me she was doing some private business with her Pilgrimage. I have her last known location. We should start at docking bay 56F." Gemini transferred the data to Richard's Omni-tool and looked back over Richard's shoulder.. "I did not realize you were with Spectre Halona's cousin tonight. Were you otherwise engaged?"

"We were, but I was only a random guest, and helping you find your...find Rina is more important for me to help with right now." Richard looked back as he heard the clicking of shoes come come towards him. Kyana did not look upset as much as irritated and curious. Richard quickly scanned Rina's last transmission for clues to what she was doing while he waited for Kyana to reach him. "Did she mention anyone to you?"

"She told me there was a scientist looking to help the Quarian people and she was going to check it out. I was unable to find where she found that claim or information. Are you armed in case something has happened?"

"No, I made sure of that before we came." Kyana had just reached them. "Why, if it is a simple mission to find something you lost, why do you need a weapon?"

"Gemini thinks that Rina, the Quarian, has been kidnapped. No one is able to locate her nor her Omni-tool on the station. She sent a coded message to Gemini, but there was no information on it. We have a lead, but not much of one."

"Tonight was supposed to be a night off, but I can see that this means a lot to you two, so I will help you out. But Richard, you owe me one night of R and R after this is over." Kyana pulled out her Omni-tool and called for a squad car.

"Is this in addition to the favor I still owe you for the advice?"

"And the rest of this night as well. Having me help you will make the investigation go quicker, and I can keep an eye on you. No weaseling out of your debts." Kyana slipped an arm around Richard to look at the display on his Omni-tool.

"Query Richard." Gemini waited until Richard gave him the sign to continue. "What was the social interaction there? The words were a casual exchange of favors and banter, but from the context and tone, I do not believe this to be the case."

"Correct, it's um...flirting in a sense. Kyana was displaying dominance and affection towards me...Right?" Richard looked over at Kyana, who gave him a knowing smile. "Just put it in your mating ritual file. And now, back to the case at hand. Kyana, can you look up information on this Dr. Lenon? The might give us a clue as to what we can expect." They spent a few minutes looking up as much information on the doctor as they could while they were waiting for the squad car to arrive.

The car pulled up and an officer stepped out of the vehicle. Kyana stepped into the passenger seat while Richard and Gemini took the back seats, There was an extra pair of pistols for Richard and Kyana, which they equipped as the car sped off to the docking bay. Richard hoped that they would arrive to nothing going wrong, but Rina's odd behavior did not bode well.

They landed a little ways off of the docking bay and Kyana had the car stand by, incase they needed it. Gemini snuck forward. They slowly crept around the docking bay, noting the complete lack of activity, despite there being a ship docked and cargo either half unloaded or half loaded. There was some scattered heavy equipment and some half eaten lunches (which made them all draw and arm their weapons). They came to the back of the docking bay when they found some weapon scorch marks. There were no bodies, and Gemini could not detect any Quarian blood in the marks. They spent about ten minutes searching around the fight area for further clues of where the bodies, both living and dead, were. Richard found what looked like a seam in the wall.

"It looks like we have two options from here. Either break into this hidden door, although it's probably a Keeper door, or go onto the ship here, which is most likely the doctor's or his associates."

"This door does not seem to have been opened recently, besides, I have found marks indicating that bodies were dragged leading towards the ship. I believe Creator Rina will be on the ship. She will most likely need medical attention. We must hurry." Gemini started to jog towards the ship. Kyana and Richard had to sprint to catch up with the Geth's synth muscled limbs. They were able to bring him to a stop just outside the ship.

"Gemini, don't go running in there. I know Rina may need your help, but if you sprint in there, you will probably be killed too quickly to help. Now come on, let's get in there and save your friend." Richard crept forward into the ship.

The halls were streaked with blood. There were no gunshots, but blood covering all of the walls, both new and old blood. They crept along, checking all the small rooms and side hatches. Each one they opened increased the charnel house stench of the ship. They stopped at the final door. There was one large room left before the pilot's den. As the door opened, Kyana and Richard charged in while Gemini provided cover.

There were a few Mechs standing around with small predator pistols, while others were holding more cumbersome, but far more horrifying in nature. The one thing that stood out about the room was that it was spotless. The smell of antiseptic was overpowering. In the middle of the room was a surgical set up, with a human standing over the body of Rina. Her suit was opened, so was some of her exoskeleton. Kyana and Richard started opening fire on the mechs before they could return fire. There was a guttural, animal sound from Gemini, causing a feedback loop from all the electronics in the area. All of the mechs started sparking and deactivating. Richard gathered all of his biotics and threw the human into the far wall with a heavy and solid ring.

Gemini was at Rina's side before Richard had recovered from the biotic shock. Kyana was already on the Omni-tool, calling for a full triage team at the ship. Gemini was already trying to close and clean Rina, to keep her alive. Kyana was already helping him, using the human's equipment to continue keeping her alive. Gemini's vocal synthesizer was getting clogged and almost sounded like emotion was bleeding through the monotone.

Richard noticed some movement in the back of the room, the human who had cut Rina open. Richard rushed over and quickly tied the person up, making sure that all his limbs were tied down. Even though it took only 3 minutes for the first response team to arrive and start fixing the damage that the man had done, but those three minutes had felt much longer. Rina's heart had almost stopped and her body was fighting off a massive infection. While they were trying to closer her body, Gemini reactivated her environmental suit. As the Triage team came, the first responders tried to shoo everyone away, so the operating team would have room. Gemini's body dropped to the floor and all the lights went out.

Richard grabbed the empty body and slowly hauled it out of the doctors' way. Richard and Kyana sat near the edge of the room, watching the team work. Richard refused to let go of Gemini's body, cradling it in his arms. After three hours of constant work, the Triage team stepped away to get a gurney. One of the doctors came over. Richard was surprised to find that it was Hevek who came over.

"Richard, Captain R'Donis. The Quarian will live, for now. She is in severe critical condition. While we have closed her up, she will be in critical condition for a while. We need to move her quickly for her to have a chance. Her suit has been helping keep her alive, but even with the suit's help she may not make it. We will let you her condition once we know more. She will be at the Camora Hospital if you want to come visit. I will have both of you cleared as visitors." Hevek gave a weak smile and went off with the rest of the Triage group. It was only as everyone was leaving that Richard thought about the prisoner. He noticed that Kyana was talking with some officers, so she seemed to have that under control.

Richard chided himself for his loss of edge. He was barely a year out of the force and he had already forgotten about a prisoner and chain of custody. He didn't move until Kyana had come back over to him and helped him up. He hoisted Gemini's body and they left the ship to C-Sec. Richard felt dazed, but he was not sure why. He did not know Rina well, but the sorrow in Gemini's soul affected him as well. It did not help that they had to walk through the charnel house again.

He was still stunned when they reached his apartment and set Gemini's body down on one of the chairs. The rest of the night was blurry. He remembered helping Kyana out of her dress, feeling the hot steam of a shower, and the comforting presence of someone in his bed. Very little solid memories of that existed for him, mixed in with his dreams.

Richard woke with a start as he felt something shuffle against his body. The first thing he noticed was the blue mass of head tentacles in his face. The second thing that he noticed was that his arms were around the naked female figure in his bed. It took him a few moments to remember the events of the previous day, and a few minutes to convince himself that those had happened and were responsible for what he woke up to.

Kyana rolled over and looked at Richard. She smiled. "So, you're finally awake, I didn't think yesterday had taken so much out of you."

"I remember everything from yesterday till we get back here, and then everything just seems blurry. What happened?" Richard felt embarrassed asking the question, but he would feel worse waiting to ask it.

"Nothing happened. I could tell Rina's Injury and Gemini's sorrow had put you in a state of shock, so we just showered and fell asleep. I wasn't going to take advantage of you in such a state." They both smiled. After a few moments of staring into Kyana's eyes, Richard leaned in slowly and kissed her. It was a short, sweet kiss. They looked at each other again, and the floodgates opened. Their next kiss was long and passionate, culminating in a mess of tangled sheets and sweating bodies.


	5. a Chilling Find

"How long has it been since you did that Richard?" Kyana asked, her chin resting on his chest, hand running over his inner thigh.

"About four years. Since before I joined the force. Why, was I that bad?" Richard ran his hand over Kyana's bluish butt. He was entranced by the designs on her skin as he traced them. "I keep a few condoms around just incase I need them."

"I'm glad you do. I'm not looking for another daughter yet. Maybe if you're around in a few years…" She laughed as Richard's face turned a light shade of red. "I wish I could stay for more, and I can see you do too, but I really should go and oversee the interrogation of that crazed human who was cutting up the Quarian." Kyana got up and tossed on some of Richard's clothing. It was a little baggy on her, but since her dress was a little torn up, it was the only thing she could reasonably wear.

"I'm coming with you, but first I need to see how Rina is doing." Kyana gave him a reproachful look. "I'm not going to interfere, but as Halona's representative while she and Vorx are away, and both Rina and Gemini are indisposed, I need to be there." He looked defiantly into Kyana's eyes. He realized this was his former boss, someone who had been alive nearly twenty times as long as he had, and he was demanding something from her.

"Maybe I was wrong about the few years. You can come, but you will be behind the glass. If you want to ask a question, you need my permission. Take it or don't come." She extended her hand to Richard. Without a moment's hesitation Richard took her hand, "Good, now that you know who is in charge, let's go see how your friends are doing." The finished getting dressed and headed out.

It took them about half an hour to make it to Camora hospital. Richard walked up to the front desk to register.

"Hello. My name is Richard Kadimus and this is Kyana R'Donis. We are here to see a Quarian who was brought in last night. I think i might need to register her." The Human behind the desk looked at the screen in front of him.

"The only Quarian who came in is a Rina'Vona nar Rella. It looks like she has been registered in full already. You two were cleared by the attending physician to have family rights. She is in room 37, Just keep the noise to a minimum." It was then that the Human looked over to see that Richard was holding a Geth platform. He sat in silent shock as RIchard and Kyana went down the hall to the room indicated.

Richard peeked in to see two Quarians and one Geth standing over Rina's bed. He could tell by the machines hooked up to her that she still lived and this was not some version of Last Rites. They entered the room as quietly as they could. All three awake occupants turned anyways to face them. Richard carefully laid Gemini's body on the floor in the corner and turned to the waiting trio.

"I'm Richard Kadimus. I am part of the Spectre Team that Rina'Vona nar Rella is a part of. And this is Captain R'Donis of C-sec. We were there With Gemini when this happened." Richard was unsure of what else to say to them. Neither of the Quarians had removed their helmets, so he could not judge their reactions. It was the Geth who finally broke the scilence.

"I am glad that you saved Creator Rina, and so is her sibling Gemini. I am known as Bonta. There are Creator Rina's parents. Jayya'Vona vas Rella and Heptep'Vona vas Rella."the two bowed their heads as their names were spoken, "I apologize for their silence, they are overcome with grief and relief about their only child. We all wish to extend our thanks to you for saving our children, but if you would not mind, we would prefer only our own company for right now."

"That's ok. I only wanted to see how Rina was and to return Gemini's platform to them."

"Captain R'donis, please tell me you have the monster in custody who did this to my daughter." Jayya pleaded, her voice breaking.

"Richard caught him and we are now going to interrogate him, Do not worry, I will not let him get away with what he has done." Jayya nodded and returned to Heptep's arms, gazing at Rina's recumbent form. Kyana excused herself and RIchard, leading him out of the hospital.

"It's hard seeing Rina like that. The looks her parents gave us." Richard couldn't lift his head at all during the walk to the Station where the Dr. Lenon was being held. Kyana led the way, becoming more and more the Captain, and less the lover wearing her lovers clothing, When they reached the C-sec headquarters, She changed into an officer's uniform and led the way to the interrogation room. Richard sat behind the glass with the technician.

Richard wrung his hands as he waited for Lenon to come to the room on the other end of the glass. After half an hour of waiting, the figure of Dr. Lenon was carried into the room and dumped in the one chair in the room. Kyana was standing just at the edge of the camera's view, leaning on the wall. The room remained motionless once the door closed. He waited for Kyana to start the questioning, but she remained motionless, staring at the Human.

Dr. Lenon's body started shaking. It took a few moments for everyone to realize that he was laughing. That laughter started to bubble up and rang out in the room, reaching an almost manic level. To her credit, Kyana did not react to the laughter. It subsided after a minute.

"I know what you me, you don't even need to ask, you Asari tramp. You all want to know why I did this, why I would chop up that Quarian and maybe even why I chopped up all of the others you found in my hold. I'll never speak about why to you or to anyone else who grovels to alien overlords." He spat on the floor about a foot from Kyana's foot, but not for lack of trying.

Kyana peeled herself off the wall and walked slowly over to the chair, clowly circling it. "You must know that Asari can read peoplee's minds, so I can just go in there and find the information I need."

"You wont though. I know that it's against policy, and you wont break the rules to catch me, you Asari don't have the stomach for it." Dr. Lenon's arrogant voice laughed out. "I know the law, and you know you have lost. You may get me, but that is all your corrupt laws will get." Richard was taken aback by this exchange. Lenon knew he was captured, but did not seem to be perturbed by it, in fact he still seemed happy. Something wasn't adding up with the evidence at hand. While there were still racists and specists, they were few and far between. Often those who were more educated had less of these leanings.

He was so engrossed in tring to peice this man together that he almost missed Kyana signal him to come in. As he walked into the room, Kyana retorted, "I may be bound by the law, but Spectres are not." She walked out of the room as Richard entered. He breathed deeply, knowing that he was now possing as a Spectre. While he did work for one, it felt odd and almost wrong to be using Halona's authority without her present.

Richard paced the room a few times, trying not to look at Dr. Lenon. He needed to think of an approach to this interrigation. Finally, he sighed and leaned against the mirror, looking at Dr. Lenon, trying to see any clue that he missed.

"Don't you want to know why? Isn't that why you are here? To find out why I did this? You could easily put me away with the evidence and never even need to interrogate me, but the question of why is eating away at you." Richard found it hard to look the man in the eye, but he forced himself to. "I know it's eating away at you, always having to answer to an _alien_. You chaff at the bit, knowing that you are supposed to be their supierior. Haven't you ever wondered why the Reapoers chose the humans? Why they were preserving humans and none of the other races? Haven't you ever wondered?" He started laughing manically.

Ricahrd couldn't take the man's attitude any longer and strode up to him. He grabbed the man by his shirt and wrench upwards. The shirt tore away as a small amount of Richard's energy bled into his grip. The man fell to the ground, half naked. Richard stared in horror at what he saw. Blazoned into the man's flesh was a symbol of horror. In an act of pure instinct, RIchard summoned his powers and sent the man flying back in a shockwave that pasted his remains onto the wall. He barged out of the room. Kyana tried to stop Richard, but he brushed past her. He pulled back to hit the wall, but before he could, Kyana slammed him into the wall. It was a gentle slam, but Richard glared at her.

"RIchard, what the hell was that! You just killed a suspect, and a possible lead to a large group. Now we have nothing!" She yelled at him and increased the pressure on Richard.

"Didn't you see the mark on his chest?" Richard looked calmly at her from where he was being forced into the wall. "It's an old Human symbol of hatred and supremecy. He had no right existing anymore. As to where they were, most likely a human colony, most likely one of the old ones."

"Can you find them? If you have Halona's access to secret documents and files and such, you find this cult. If you can't then I will have to put you up on murder charges." Richard gazed into Kyana's eyes as they teared up. She was determined to see the law carried out, no matter what.

"I will find them. I have more motivation than just my own freedom, do not worry. At least too much." Kyana let Richard down and marched away from him. As Richard left the precinct, Tannis stopped him.

"What was that about?" She asked him, a whisper of concern in her voice.

"Kya..Captain R'Donis gave me an ultimatum. Catch a group of terrorists or be brought up on charges."

"Were you about to use her familiar name? Are you two?" Tannis's eyes grew wide as Richard blushed. Tannis punched Richard's arm. "You need to be careful with her. I'm happy you finally got laid, but don't upset the Captain, ok." Richard nodded.

Richard headed back to his apartment. On the way, he sent out a message to Halona, Vorx, and Gemini that he needed their help. He had a lead on a human terrorist group. He started making dinner for Niala, knowing she would be home this evening. His hands were shaking while he was cooking, both from fear and rage. He was so intent on the cooking that he was startled when he finally looked up to see the table was set for 4, with a fifth seat with no place setting. Gemini and Niala were sitting at the table. Niala had her computer open, and Gemini was helping her with some of her school work.

Richard set the food onto the table and gave Niala a hug. "How is my little dove doing."

"I'm fine dad. What about you? I found a shredded Asari dress in the trash today. What happened?" Niala closed her computer and looked back and forth between Gemini and Richard.

"I was on a date with Captain R'Donis when Gemini called me. Rina had gone missing. We investigated and found a human had kidnapped her and was mutilating her. There was a fight and we saved Rina. Kyana, I mean Captain R'Donis, helped me get home after RIna was taken to the hospital. She stayed the night and took some of my clothes this morning."

"An accurate, if abridged, summary of what happened." Gemini responded.

"Ok, but if all of the happened last night, why is Gemini here today? And why did they insist on setting for 5 people?" Niala looked around. "Is your girlfriend coming over?"

"We got into a small argument. She isn't coming over tonight. I invited Gemini and the Spectre Halona over. We have some work we need to discuss. As long at Halona allows it, you can stay." Niala looked sceptical but reopened her computer and continued to work along with Gemini.

A few minutes later the door opened and Halona and Vorx walked in. Neither of them seemed to surprised to see the table set. They quickly sat down and waited for Richard to start speaking. He looked at them for a while before sighing.

"I need your help. There is a human supremacist group that is resurfacing and I have to take it down, or else I go up for murder charges."

"What! What did you do dad?" Niala shouted, aghast at what her father just said.

"I killed the man who cut up Rina. It was a reaction to finding out what group he worked for, or at least what they stand for." He tossed a piece of paper onto the table. Halona picked it up.

"It looks like a cross with bent arms." She shrugged.

"It was the symbol of one of the worst organizations in Human history. These seem to be taking that group's ideologies and marrying it to the remainder of Cerberus. If this gets out of hand, we could see a resurgance of the Reapers."

"What! Shepard got them to leave peacefully!" Vorx shouted out.

"They are claiming that humans are superior because of all the species in our cycle, only humans were chosen to be made into a Reaper. That is the superiority they are claiming. Their experiments are to find a way to destroy and discredit the other races." They sat around the table for a while, silent except for the clinking of silverware as Niala and Vorx ate. Richard and Halona ate at a much slower rate, playing with their food.

"Ancestors! I can't believe I forgot!" Niala grab her bag and started flipping through the OSD's she had from school. Finding the one she wanted, she brandished it to everyone at the table. "This is a report we have to watch about the growing unrest and isolationism of some of the human colonies."

Gemini took the disk and put it into it's Omni-tool. "This report says that there are human insurrections against aliens, mainly Turians and Salarians, in a system in the Hades Gamma cluster, They appear to be spouting some sort of rhetoric. I am unable to grasp all of the cultural references."

"Here, these might help. Just try not to hate humanity too much after integrating all of this." Richard started working on his Omni-Tool. "Huh, even with your Spectre Status Halona, I cannot access some of the information." Everyone looked at him, eyebrows raised. " I need special permission from the Alliance to access it, since it was declared a War Crime and a Crime against Humanity. Here is what I was able to get."

Gemini took a minute to collate all of the information. "I can see the parallels they are drawing to an Old Human Regime from the 20th century of Terra. I believe that Richard is correct, that if we do not stop this movement now we will fall into another war."

"Well, I guess our objective is simple. Go to the main headquarters of this new organization and unload our ammo clips on them." Vorx said, pushing his empty plate away. "How bad can they be?"

"Bad enough, there people are fanatical and full of zealous anger. I think we will need something more powerful than our normal load out. They may have even taken over most of the planetary government by now. Halona, do you have access to something better than what we already have?"

"I may be able to get some old experimental heatsink weapons. They were Spectre only back in the day, but are relics now."

"Wait, have you been holding out?" Vorx looked almost hurt.

"I need the council's permission to get them." Halona's eyes widened as Vorx started to push her out the door. "I guess we will meet you at the ship with the relic weapons." They heard Vorx's maniacal laughter even when they were out of the apartment. Richard and Niala exchanged glances.

"I'm sorry dear. I have to go. If i don't i will probably be arrested for murder." Richard pleaded. Niala's mandibles clenched together in sorrow and anger. She did not want her father to go, especially since he might be going into the start of a war. She didn't want to lose the man who adopted her, and no matter what he did, she was probably going to lose him. Her shoulders shuddered.

Her soft sobs were interrupted as she felt someone hug her. She looked up to see Gemini holding her. The confusion stopped her tears long enough to realize that Gemini was going through their own loss at the moment and gave them a hug back. Richard nearly broke into tears at the sight of them. He went over and gave both of them a hug,

After about 10 minutes of silent crying, Niala broke away. "I'm sorry. I don't want you to go. I want you to be safe."

"I know dear, but I need to do this to keep you safe. With them around, no one is safe, not even humans. That is why I do this job, to keep you safe." Niala nodded and quickly ran into her room. The door slammed behind her. Richard and Gemini did the dishes while they waited for Vorx to comm them. They finished quickly and Richard knocked on Niala's door.

"Honey, can I come in?" A muffled no came from the room. "Is there someone you want me to call over." A muffled yes. "Pevev?" Another yes. Richard pulled out his Omni-tool and contacted Pevev, asking if he wanted to come over. He said he would be there in 10 minutes. Since they did not have school the next day, Richard made sure there was enough food in the house and gave Pevev permission to stay overnight if Niala wanted him to.

"Gemini, what type of armor and barriers do you have?"

"SI light ablative over a mainly ferrous body with high frequency redundant shield generators. They are not meant for sustained combat. They are meant mainly to help keep creator Rina safe from smaller skirmishes."

"Come on." Richard grinned. "I know a place where we can get some stronger armor." Richard led Gemini to the C-sec main station in their part of the wards. The whole station grew quite as Richard entered. All of the officers were eyeing him with either contempt or pity. Gemini, who just showed another true emotion, seemed completely oblivious to the situation. Richard swallowed hard and walked up to a door marked 'Captain R'Donis'. He knocked and went in when she answered.

He almost wished he had not when he saw the withering look she gave him. His barriers immediately flared up in preparation for her biotic attack, but the attack never came.

"Giving yourself up already? I thought there was more to you than that." Her voice sounded hurt.

"No, I...I need a favor. I need heavy armor for both myself and Gemini here. We found the planet where they are located, but we may be going up against nearly an entire planet. These people are fanatics. Gemini and myself have no armor that would allow us to live more than a minute or so in a huge battle."

"You can have some of our riot gear. It should keep you alive for a while. You can take as many grenades and clips as you need."

"Grenades will be welcome. We will not need clips as Halona Spectre is acquiring some heatsink weapons for us." Gemini intoned.

"Good, that will be safer." Kyana nodded. She came around the desk and grabbed Richard's head. She forced him into a kiss. The kiss felt cold and wet until Richard realized that the extra cold and wet was from tears coming down her face. "You bastard. I can't believe I was falling for you. And then you go and get yourself mixed up in this. You have a daughter, a Mother, a grandmother even! And what about me? All of these hearts that you are going to break if you don't come back. Now, get out of here before I start to hate you." She pushed Richard and Gemini out of her office.

Taking a deep breath, Richard led the way to the armory and pulled out a fine suit of medium armor. He had trained in full heavy riot gear, but it did not give him the mobility he required.

"Ah, Tartarus Striker Armor. Perfect for boosting Biotics. What about you Gemini, anything stand out?"

"I have found some extra ablative coverings and a small cyclonic reactor." Richard turned around and saw Gemini looked twice its size in girth. The ablatives were not too thick, but the generator and cables was almost as big as Gemini.

"I think you should go for something a little smaller. How about a full set of these Mycinic generators? This will give you another layer of shielding, and this one is segmented, so even if you lose a section, your main shields will cover the zone till it regenerates." Gemini's top two head plates rose as they quickly slipped the generators into slots around their body.

They grabbed a few bags of grenades and left to meet the others at the ship. The station was silent until they left the front doors and a buzz of conversation erupted behind them. Richard felt lucky to have made it out of there alive, but then what he was doing was more likely to get him killed.

They made it to the ship a little before Vorx and Halona. Gemini and Richard quickly stored the gear and made sure the medical supplied were all stocked up. They heard Vorx's deep maniacal laugh as he neared the ship and they came out to see him armed to the teeth with weapons. Halona was behind him, similarly over armed. Vorx was still laughing as he entered the ship.

"Has he been doing that the entire time?" Richard asked Halona, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, the whole time. I love him, but sometimes he is just too much." She smiled as the krogan's laugh reached a new height when he saw all of the grenades. "Here are the weapons we picked up for you. There was an old Heatsink Shotgun, Spectre Class. It was set up with frictionless material and an enormous barrel. He took a pair of pistols armed with smoother barrels and rapid fire mechanisms. He put tasers on the ends of the pistols and strapped them onto his waist. He flung the shotgun over his shoulder.

Richard was about to walk away when he noticed something special on the far end of the table. He walked over and found what looked like a sword. "What is this doing here? I didn't think swords would work against modern ceramics and barriers."

"These ones are special." Vorx smiled. "They are a set of melee weapons that the council commissioned with the heavy melee of the Reaper Invasion. They have mass effect fields and biotic reactives in them to help them cut through any materials."

"Wait, so you're saying that this sword becomes more powerful the more of my biotic energy i force into it? Who would make such a thing?" Vorx smiled again and laughed.

"A Krogan!" He bellowed. Richard strapped the sword to his hip. He had a lot of weapons, more than normal, but now he felt ready to take on a whole corrupt cult, well, at least armed enough to try.

They all piled into Halona's ship and sped off to the Hades Gamma Cluster. On the way they tried to find out more about the group. From what they could tell of public speeches, they were leaving the terrorist aspect behind and using rhetoric to sway people's minds. It seemed to be working too. After the Reaper Invasion, with so many dead and governments in shambles, the Council had tried to crack down and form a tighter hold on the systems it had.

While this had been good for the races who had lived under the Council for generations, many humans were upset. They felt as if what remained of their government was rolling over to their alien overlords, taking from the humans to help all the other races. This was the main core of their rhetoric. Richard had to admit that he could understand the feeling of these people.

Humans had been harvested before and during the invasion. Not just killed but harvested, and it was only because of Shepard that anyone in the galaxy did anything to save humanity. And now Shepard is gone, but the governments who did nothing to help them remain. If you looked at history that way, which a good number of humans on the far reaches of Alliance and Citadel space did, the rhetoric of these isolationists and supremacists spoke to you.

It took them twelve hours to reach the system with the cult. By that time they had come to a decision: the leader had to die. They were not going to capture and bring him to trial. A trial would only inflame the people. They would make sure that there was no one left alive in the compound. RIchard hated the idea of killing so many people, but he could not let them ruin the galaxy his daughter was growing up in.


End file.
